Thursday, October 22, 2026
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Furniture Factories Made Less in September

U.S. furniture output fell for a second straight month and sits 4.1% below a year ago. Builders report the weakest buyer traffic since 2012. West Coast ports just had a record September.

FIN Desk··5 min read
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Furniture Factories Made Less in September

U.S. furniture output fell for a second straight month and sits 4.1% below a year ago. Builders report the weakest buyer traffic since 2012. West Coast ports just had a record September.

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The number to know is 4.1%. That’s how far U.S. furniture factory output fell from a year ago in September, according to the Federal Reserve. It was the second monthly decline in a row, while manufacturing overall grew. Last Thursday’s Census data showed furniture stores sold more in September. So retail volume and domestic production are telling different stories this month.

The short version

  • Factories: Output is down two months running and 4.1% below last year. The third quarter still looks up because July was strong.

  • Housing: Builder confidence is at a 14-year low, and nearly half of builders are cutting prices. Expect less new-home furnishing demand into early 2027.

  • Ports: Long Beach had its busiest month ever. That count covers all cargo, not just furniture, but inbound supply is not the constraint.

  • Southern Motion: The creditors’ committee objected to financing ahead of the Oct 20 hearing.

  • Ethan Allen: Both sides filed new materials, and the vote is still Nov 4.

Factories: Second straight monthly decline

The Fed’s G.17 industrial production report, released Oct 16, is the government’s furniture-specific output number. Furniture and related products fell from August, after August had already fallen from July. Output is now 4.1% below a year ago, while manufacturing overall is up for the month and the year.

July carried the quarter, so Q3 still looks positive. September is preliminary, and the Fed’s annual revision on Nov 24 will redraw the history.

Keep in mind that this is not proof imports replaced U.S. production. Furniture-specific import data for September isn’t out yet.

What to do:

  • Don’t confuse strong store sales with strong supply-side demand. They diverged this month.

  • Confirm lead times and fill rates with your key domestic vendors. A plant running slower can still stretch custom orders if backlog and labor vary between factories.

  • Plan for the Nov 24 revision to change the trend line.

In case you missed it

Sunday’s editorial, The Furniture Store Next Door Has Your Best Seller on Its Floor, got the biggest response of any editorial we’ve run. Thank you for all the comments and emails. If you only skimmed it, go back and read the whole thing. It’s worth it. And if it made you think of someone in the business, please share it with them.

Housing: Weakest buyer traffic since 2012

The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index for October, released Oct 19, put builder confidence at a 14-year low. Nearly half of builders cut asking prices this month, and most are still using sales incentives. NAHB blamed mortgage rates above 7%, gas prices, and higher material and diesel costs.

Fewer people touring homes now means fewer whole-house furnishing jobs a few months from now.

What to do:

  • Assume the new-home pipeline into early 2027 is thinner.

  • Shift effort toward customers already in their homes: replacement, upgrades, and single-room refreshes.

Ports: Long Beach’s busiest month ever

The Port of Long Beach moved nearly a million container units in September. That was the best month in its 115-year history, and about 25% above a year ago, with imports growing faster than total cargo. The Port of Los Angeles also reported a record September. Both are all-cargo counts, not furniture-only.

Put this next to the factory data: less U.S. output and more containers at the dock, right as the slower big-ticket season begins.

What to do:

  • Expect promotions and clearance pressure, not empty shelves. Pricing power favors the buyer who can wait.

  • Don’t read September’s surge as a furniture import surge. Ask your vendors what share of their containers was furniture or components, and what’s still sitting in the yard or DC.

  • NRF’s Port Tracker shows imports tapering into November. Don’t build open-to-buy on September repeating through winter.

Southern Motion: Creditors push back before the financing hearing

In Southern Motion’s Chapter 11 case (Northern District of Mississippi), the official committee of unsecured creditors filed an objection and reservation of rights to the company’s financing request on Oct 16. The U.S. Trustee had already responded earlier that week.

The final debtor-in-possession financing hearing is Tuesday, Oct 20, at 1:30 p.m. Central in Aberdeen. The creditors’ meeting is Oct 28. No sale motion has been filed, and no final financing order has been entered.

Parent company Man Wah has already flagged Southern Motion write-downs as part of a sharp profit drop, which we covered Thursday.

What to do:

  • If you carry the line, keep confirming open orders, ship dates, and warranty support with your rep until a final order is entered.

  • Treat the Oct 20 hearing as the next real checkpoint. Don’t assume a sale or wind-down from this filing alone.

Ethan Allen: New filings, same Nov 4 vote

Ethan Allen and activist investor DGB, which says it holds about 5% of the stock, each filed new proxy materials on Oct 15.

The company argues that DGB’s projections promise large revenue and profit gains without explaining how they’d be achieved through customer acquisition, store productivity, pricing, or inventory. It again pointed to its debt-free balance sheet. DGB published a matrix comparing the incumbent directors with its five nominees and said it would keep the regular dividend.

Neither ISS nor Glass Lewis has issued a recommendation yet. Those reports typically arrive in the final weeks before a vote.

What to do:

  • If you buy from or compete with Ethan Allen, watch the operating questions: lead times, design programs, and dealer treatment. The vote decides the board, not your open orders.

  • Don’t treat either side’s presentation as the brand’s settled plan.

Quick hits

American Home Furniture & Mattress (Albuquerque): The roughly 90-year-old retailer is liquidating its last two stores over the next several weeks and plans to dissolve afterward. Its Chapter 11 case was dismissed earlier this month, so this is an out-of-court wind-down. The company cited its inability to raise capital to restock, merchandise costs driven in part by tariffs, higher fuel and freight costs, and weaker big-ticket demand. If you sell in that market, expect short-term closeout pricing nearby.

Dates to watch

  • Oct 20: Southern Motion DIP financing hearing

  • Oct 22: IEEPA refund schedule due at the Court of International Trade

  • Oct 28: Southern Motion creditors’ meeting

  • Nov 4: Ethan Allen shareholder vote

  • Nov 10: China ship port fees resume

  • Nov 24: Fed annual revision to industrial production

  • Jan 1, 2027: Section 232 increases on wood, upholstered, and cabinet products

Bottom line

U.S. furniture plants built less for a second month, builders see the weakest traffic since 2012, and ports just had a record month. Stock is not the problem; demand is. Sell value and certainty, keep reorders tight to real demand, confirm domestic lead times, and watch the Southern Motion hearing and the Ethan Allen vote.

If someone in the industry would get something out of this briefing, forward it to them.

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