Home-furnishings sales declined by more than 10 percent for the second time in four months as consumer demand continued to wane, according to a monthly survey released yesterday.
Orders in June were off 14 percent to a value of $1.8 billion compared with subpar sales in June 2007, according to Smith Leonard PLLC, a financial-services company based in High Point.
The industry, particularly U.S. manufacturers and marketers, has been in a deep slump for orders since June 2006. It has been hampered by higher energy prices, the national housing crisis, and increasing credit-card debt and job insecurity among consumers.
Since June 2006, there have been just two months with an increase in furniture orders as measured by Smith Leonard.
"The decline of 14 percent was somewhat of a surprise," said Ken Smith, the director of furniture services for Smith Leonard. "The declines seem to be at all size companies, as well as various price points.
The June survey found that 65 percent of the participants reported lower sales than in June 2007. For the year to date, 86 percent of participants have had lower orders than in 2007.
The orders slump has had a significant influence on furniture-manufacturing jobs in the region.
In the past three months alone, there have been three plant-closing announcements affecting a combined 1,050 employees -- Stanley Furniture Co. Inc. (350 in Lexington), Drexel Heritage and Henredon (300 in High Point) and American of Martinsville Inc. (400 in Martinsville, Va.).
Another industry survey, the Furniture Buying Index, reflects a similar tone among consumers. The index was down two points in August to a reading of 55 -- the lowest recorded since America's Research Group began compiling the Index in 1992.
"Even though gas prices are down slightly, this has not been enough to impact consumer spending for big-ticket items," said Britt Beemer, the chairman of America's Research Group.
Smith said that an uptick in furniture sales will depend significantly on increased housing sales "with mortgages that people can actually afford."
"We continue to remind people that there is still a great deal of furniture being sold," Smith said.
"But, with more suppliers of furniture and more channels of distribution, a slight decline in sales can mean that each supplier or retailer may be losing sales as much because of the supply chain as the overall decline in sales."
■ Richard Craver can be reached at 727-7376 or at rcraver@wsjournal.com.
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