Residential Furniture Orders Up 12% October 2014 vs 2013
New Furniture Orders Climb 4% in Smith Leonard July Survey

HIGH POINT, NC - New orders for residential furniture increased 12 percent in October compared to a year earlier, according to the latest survey of manufacturers and distributors by High Point accounting and consulting firm Smith Leonard.

Although they did experience a slight drop since September, for the year-to-date new orders remained 6 percent ahead of last year, according to the latest issue of Furniture Insights, a monthly publication of Smith Leonard. Overall, 72 percent of those reporting said they had increased their orders.

"Overall, we would say that business has been pretty good for most in 2014, and from what we have heard, business has remained at pretty good levels on up through November and December," noted Ken Smith, managing partner at Smith Leonard.

Shipments for October were up 7 percent for the month, and were ahead 6 percent for the year to date. Backlogs were up 9 percent over 2013, and up 3 percent from September's figure, according to the report.

"All in all, the furniture business should be reasonably good. Still, there are many demands for consumer dollars, so we continue to have to work hard to get our share," Smith added.

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