Bedroom/Dining Room Furniture Survey High Point National Furniture Market - October 1998

Furniture World Magazine

The world markets have caused many to wonder what the October Market might bring forth. Times are still good and people have money to spend, but will they spend it? The Federal Government, through the efforts of the Congress, continue to take steps to balance the budget, and that is truly adding confidence. Inflation is under control at home, and the Federal Reserve Board is keeping a firm hand on the interest rates, rates so important to industrial growth. Hardwood sawmills and veneer mills are enjoying a fairly good, but perhaps nervous, domestic business. The export business is soft, but most agree it will eventually return. Hardwood veneer and lumber production is strong, and human resource shortages continue to be a greater concern than raw material supplies. While the attendance numbers may be down, the furniture buyers that did come apparently placed orders for casegoods. For the medium and upper end casegoods, it was a good market! Our survey crews felt the manufacturers of lower priced or promotional furniture probably had a bad market. Manufacturers showing at the market for the first time my have gone home very disappointed. Twice a year since 1934, voluntary crews from the various associations have taken an unbiased survey of bedroom and dining room casegoods, identifying bedroom and dining room by style and the materials used in the manufacturing process. The survey crews, usually twoperson teams, walk by every showroom in search of the bedroom and dining room units and the modular wall units, entertainment centers, and computer home station casegoods. They are instructed to tally all the wood imitations as well, because we really want our readers to know what is happening in this segment of the market. The American Walnut Manufacturers [AWMA], and the Fine Hardwood Veneer Association [FHVA] first started the survey, but now they receive assistance from the staff of the Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers, Inc. [AHMI], Hardwood Plywood & Veneer Association [HPVA], and the Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association [SLMA]. At this market, cherry continued to lead all other materials, although it lost a few percentage points. Pine and red oak seemed to be the gainers, but we are reminded in reality there were very few surprises. We had more survey crew volunteers for this market, thus more time was available in each of the spaces visited, and the numbers reflect a larger and more detailed sampling. Hard maple, rubberwood and birch made fairly improved showings. We are still awaiting the return of walnut, and have been told it is on the way. Many of the traditional casegoods are made from solid lumber. However, when quality is of the highest priority, the bedroom headboards and dresser tops, dining room table tops, and major portions of the wall units, entertainment centers, and home computer stations will incorporate the use of fine hardwood veneers along with the solids. The matched veneers maximize the beauty of real wood. The technically superior veneer panels are flatter, more stable, and lighter in weight than a same sized panel made from solid strips of lumber. According to the numbers, cherry [ 18.2 % ], pine [ 15.9 % 1, red oak [ 14.9 % 1, hard maple [9.5 % 1, white oak [6.9 % 1, mahogany [6.2 % 1, and ash [4.3 %] were the most popular wood species used in bedroom and dining room casegoods. Painted wood, printed wood, and wood imitations or substitutes totaled 14.0%, down from the previous market . The bedroom and dining room styles did not change appreciably from last market, as American and Contemporary continued to dominate. There might be some renewed interest in the Italian styling. We are seeing more of the traditional SE Asian styles offered to the US market. Several years ago the Asian offering would have been made with North American woods, but today they seem to be showing more of the furniture made from their own native species. In the wall units, entertainment centers, and home computer station categories, the American and Italian styles made gains significant. American traditional seemed to take a huge jump. When it came to the materials used to manufacture the wall units, etc., there were a few changes. The wood imitations appeared to take a serious dip, supporting our thinking that the medium and upper end furniture did much better than the low end. Of the bedrooms, 56% were made in the USA, and 46% were constructed from a combination of solids and veneered panels. For the dining rooms, 50 % were made in the USA, and 41 % percent were made using a combination of solid and veneered panel type of construction. Overall, this was a good market.