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The latest Smith Leonard Furniture Insights study reports new orders were 12 percent higher in December 2009 compared to December 2008.
For December, approximately 62 percent of the participants reported increased orders over the same month a year ago. The 62 percent is up from 51 percent in November, 41 percent in October, 33 percent in September and 20 percent in August.
For the 2009 year, new orders declined 13 percent. At the end of June, year-to-date orders were down 20 percent from a high of 22 percent earlier in the year.
Some 91 percent of participants reported lower orders for the 2009 year.
In other trends, the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had increased in January, declined sharply in February, and now stands at 46, down from 56.5 in January.