Furnishers pessimistic about prospects
November 29, 2023
Furniture manufacturers are pessimitic about sluggish trade in the sector with a depressed oulook for the next six months.
The Trade & Price Trends Survey is run twice-yearly by the British Furniture Manufacturers Association (BFM) who said the latest results from over 4,000 members suggested that "optimism about the trading environment is fading."
The report said: "A negative balance of -21% reported that they were more pessimistic than in April this year and -32% said that trade was worse than 12 months ago. Negative results were also reported for order intake and the volume of output."
The was however some encouragement that raw material prices were falling although labour and overhead cost pressures were still at a comparatively high level.
BFM MD Phil Spademan said: “The latest Trade and Price Trends Survey reveals a dip in optimism from respondents, with predictions for the next six months remaining in the negative for expected output and orders. However, skill shortages were not as pronounced as in recent surveys.”
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