HIGH POINT, NC - Smith Leonard's furniture report for May is out and it reveals that both new orders and shipments are both up from the same time last year.

New orders in May 2013 were 6 percent higher than May 2012 orders, according to accounting firm Smith Leonard's recent survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors.

Orders were up for 68 percent of the participants, down from 80 percent reported last month. Year-to-date, new orders were 4 percent higher than the first five months of 2012, up from 3 percent reported last month. According to Smith Leonard, approximately two-thirds of the participants have reported increased orders so far this year, down slightly from 71 percent last month.

Shipments in May were up 3 percent over May 2012 and up 9 percent over April 2013. As with last month, the results for shipments were a mixed bag for participants with only 53 percent of the participants reporting increased shipments.

Year-to-date, shipments were up 2 percent over the same period a year ago. Backlogs were 8 percent higher than May 2012 up from a 6 percent increase reported last month as orders exceeded shipments.