HOME GOOD BUSINESS TRENDS SHOW EARLY SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT--Some big home-furnishings retailers, furniture makers and appliance manufacturers are finally reporting rising customer visits and, in some cases, sales upticks after several years of recession-repressed results. [ READ MORE ] |
U.S. FURNITURE FACTORY ORDERS DOWN 10% IN SEPTEMBER FROM YEAR EARLIER- U.S. residential furniture factory orders in September were down 10% from the same month a year earlier, the best comparison since May 2008 when the year-to-year decline was 6%, according to Smith Leonard. About a third of the respondents to the accounting and consulting firm's monthly survey actually reported increases in orders - up from 20% who reported gains in August. [ READ MORE ] |
U.S. CUTS 2007 FURNITURE IMPORT DUTY RATES SLIGHTLY-After further review, the U.S. Department of Commerce slightly decreased antidumping duty rates on wood bedroom furniture for 2007 for 18 Chinese manufacturers, the DOC announced. It said the amendments corrected earlier errors. The rate for the affected companies was cut from 29.98% to 29.89%. [ READ MORE ] |
CHINA FURNITURE FACTORIES RUN SHORT ON WORKERS-In a country of 1.3 billion, it's hard to imagine there could be a shortage of workers. But that's the situation some Chinese furniture producers are facing. And with inventories tight at both retailers and manufacturers, there are concerns that factories could not quickly deliver more product if there's an uptick in orders. [ READ MORE ] |