TEMPE, Ariz. — Furniture orders are down according to recently released studies such as one by Smith Leonard, and the Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.

Ken Smith, the managing partner at Smith Leonard, said that new furniture orders in March were down 26% compared to March 2021. "March 2021 orders were not comparable to March 2020. Comparing March 2022 to March 2019, orders were up about 5%, some of which probably reflects price increases that were made throughout 2021 and into 2022," said Smith.

The latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business also found furniture orders dropping. While economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in May, according to the ISM report, the furniture industry was not one of them. In fact, of the 15 manufacturing industries analyzed in May, furniture & related products were the only industry reporting a decrease in May compared to April.

Despite orders being down in this sector, production in the Furniture & Related Products remained high. Also high were prices for raw materials paid by furniture manufacturers, and it look longer to get the materials from their suppliers, according to the report.  

Some of the overall highlights of the recent ISM report, include: 

• New Orders, Production, and Backlogs Growing at Faster Rates.
• Employment Contracting; Supplier Deliveries Slowing at a Slower Rate.
• Raw Materials Inventories Growing at a Faster Rate; Customers’ Inventories Too Low.
• Prices Increasing at a Slower Rate; Exports Growing at a Faster Rate; Imports Contracting.
• Record-Long Lead Times for Capital Expenditures.

The report was issued by Timothy R. Fiore, CPSM, C.P.M., Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee:

“The May Manufacturing PMI registered 56.1 percent, an increase of 0.7 percentage points from the reading of 55.4 percent in April. This figure indicates expansion in the overall economy for the 24th month in a row after a contraction in April and May 2020. This is the second-lowest Manufacturing PMI reading since September 2020, when it registered 55.4 percent.

According to Fiore:

• New Orders Index reading of 55.1 percent is 1.6 percentage points higher than the 53.5 percent recorded in April.
• The Production Index reading of 54.2 percent is a 0.6-percentage point increase compared to April’s figure of 53.6 percent.
• The Prices Index registered 82.2 percent, down 2.4 percentage points compared to the April figure of 84.6 percent.
• The Backlog of Orders Index registered 58.7 percent, 2.7 percentage points higher than the April reading of 56 percent.
• The Employment Index went into contraction territory at 49.6 percent, 1.3 percentage points lower than the 50.9 percent recorded in April.
• The Supplier Deliveries Index reading of 65.7 percent is 1.5 percentage points lower than the April figure of 67.2 percent.
• The Inventories Index registered 55.9 percent, 4.3 percentage points higher than the April reading of 51.6 percent.
• The New Export Orders Index reading of 52.9 percent is a uppointspercentage point compared to April’s figure of 52.7 percent.
• The Imports Index fell into contraction territory, decreasing 2.7 percentage points to 48.7 percent from 51.4 percent in April.”

Fiore continues, “The U.S. manufacturing sector remains in a demand-driven, supply chain-constrained environment. Despite the Employment Index contracting in May, companies improved their progress in addressing moderate-term labor shortages at all tiers of the supply chain, according to Business Survey Committee respondents’ comments. Panelists reported slightly lower rates of quits compared to April.

May was a second straight month of a slight easing of price expansion, but instability in global energy markets continues. Surcharge increase activity appears to be stabilizing across all industry sectors. Sentiment remained strongly optimistic regarding demand, with five positive growth comments for every cautious comment."

Fifteen manufacturing industries reported growth in May, in the following order: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Printing & Related Support Activities; Machinery; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Computer & Electronic Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Transportation Equipment; Paper Products; Petroleum & Coal Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Chemical Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Primary Metals; and Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components. The only industry reporting a decrease in May compared to April is Furniture & Related Products.