HIGH POINT, N.C. — New residential furniture orders dropped 3% in January compared to the same period in 2024, according to the March issue of Furniture Insights.Yet despite the overall decline, two-thirds of respondents reported seeing increased orders.

Compared to December figures, January new orders were up 2%, although that could be due to some seasonality from the holiday break,  noted Mark Laferriere, assurance partner at Smith Leonard, the accounting and consulting firm that produces the monthly report. 

January shipments were up 4% compared to 2024 figures, and up 8% compared to December 2024. Consistent with
new orders, shipments in January 2025 were also up for approximately two-thirds of the participants compared to January 2024, Laferriere said. Backlogs were down 5% compared to January 2024, and down 4% from December 2024 "as current shipments outpaced new orders during the last month."

Receivable levels were up 6% from December 2024, but flat with January 2024 figures, "both of which are materially in line with the respective shipment trends, given normal timing differences with collections," Laferriere noted. "Inventories were up 3% from December 2024 and down 3% from January 2024, which are in line with prior periods and current operational levels including the December holiday break," he added.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales at furniture and home furnishings stores in February were flat with January, but up
5.5% from February 2024. Year to date on a non-adjusted basis, sales were up 3.8%, according to the March Furniture Insights.

Tariffs, both existing and potential, continue to impact American business and spending, making projections difficult, Laferriere said. "[S]o I’ll stick to what we do know, which is that consumer confidence declined for a fourth consecutive month as concerns grew about labor market conditions and stock market volatility (seemingly hitting consumers in both the low-end and high-end of the market), among other things, which as a leading economic indicator could be a signal of trouble ahead at least until some of the current uncertainty is resolved.

"However, with the two-month reporting lag reflected in our monthly stats, the full impact of these recent trends doesn’t appear to have filtered their way down to our participants’ operations and financial results, so we’re hoping the furniture industry can maintain its recent modest gains against these potential headwinds."

He added, "There does seem to be some reason for optimism with recent housing reports, though it would appear the Fed is going to take a wait and see approach to how current policies will impact the overall economy and inflation before implementing any further cuts."