New furniture orders climb 11% in March
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HIGH POINT, NC -- Residential furniture manufacturers and distributors reported that new orders were up 11% in March 2011 compared to March 2010 , according to the monthly Furniture Insights survey by consultant company Smith Leonard.

New orders for furniture also stood 14% ahead of February 2011, Smith Leonard said.

The March results put the year-to-date orders up 4% over the first quarter of 2010. The first quarter of 2010 report indicated orders up 9% over 2009.

Some 64% of the participants reported increased orders in March; for the quarter, approximately 51% of the participants are now reporting increased order rates, up from 44% last month.

Smith Leonard also noted that shipments for March were 7% higher than March 2010. Year-to-date, shipments were up 3% over the same period a year ago.

Posted by Rich Christianson

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