Mid-March 2023, update

Dare I say the industry is 90% back to pre-covid days. Backlogs are shrinking, build times are improving and no rumblings of price increases from any supplier. Labor shortages in the Hickory NC area have eased with layoffs from low-end builders so that helps as well, there are jobs available and people to fill them.

Business has slowed, and that's in part due to the time of year. I can almost set my watch by it every year, as tax deadlines approach business softens in early March and will continue to be soft until early June, when it begins to pick back up again. Clientele for better brands of furniture are typically ones that have to pay into taxes, not get rebate checks from the IRS, so its understandable.

It has been a crazy time since January 2019 when Covid showed up. Four years of really wild times in the furniture business. Normalcy is good. While I don't see manufactuers lowering prices overall, I think they will roll out promotions when their backlogs are down to 6 weeks or less. They are not there yet, but may be by August.