HIGH POINT --- New residential furniture orders in November fell 9% compared to the same month a year earlier, according to the latest Furniture Insights report from Smith Leonard.

They also were up 5% from October, while shipments were down 1% from November 2023 and flat with October.

According to the monthly survey, new orders totaled $2.4 billion, compared with $2.56 billion in November 2023. They were down for about 40% of survey participants. They were up 5% from the $2.3 billion reported in October.

Shipments for the month of November totaled $2.17 billion, compared with $2.19 billion in November 2023 and down for 67% of survey participants. They were down about 1.4% from the $2.2 billion reported in October.

November backlogs totaled $2.5 billion, down 10% from the $2.76 billion reported in November 2023 and were up 1% from $2.44 billion in October “as current new orders outpaced shipments during the last month.”

Other highlights of the report were as follows:

+ Receivables were down 4% from November 2023 but up 1% from October, both of which “are materially in line with respective shipment trends, given normal timing differences with collections.”

+ Inventories were down 4% from November 2023 and up 1% from October, which the firm described as “in line with prior periods and current operational levels.”

+ The number of factory and warehouse workers was down 5% from November 2023, but level with October.

+ Payroll expenses were down 1% from October. Year to date, the report said, they were down 3%, “which is materially consistent with the employee headcount and prior periods.”

Source: smith-leonard.com