Panels & Furniture Asia July/August 2020

10 | NEWS
July / August 2020, Issue 4 | Panels & Furniture Asia
NORTH AMERICA KITCHEN CABINETS SALES
DOWN 22% FOR APRIL 2020
ACCORDING to the Kitchen Cabinet
Manufacturers Association (KCMA)’s
monthly Trend of Business Survey,
participating cabinet manufacturers
reported a significant decrease in overall
cabinet sales of 22% for April 2020,
compared to the same month in 2019.
Custom sales are down 30.4%, semicustom
decreased 25.4%, and stock
sales decreased 17.8%.
In March 2020, COVID-19 was declared
a national pandemic and the results of
the economic shutdown can be seen in
the monthly numbers. Overall cabinet
sales were down 30.9% in April 2020
compared to March. Custom sales
decreased 35.7%; semi-custom sales
decreased 31.5%; and stock sales
decreased 29.6% compared to the
previous month.
Overall year-to-date cabinet sales are
down slightly at 1% due to the April dip.
Custom sales decreased 4.1%, semicustom
sales are down 5.9%, and stock
sales remain strong at an increase of
3.2% YTD.
Survey participants include stock, semicustom,
and custom companies whose
combined sales represent approximately
75% of the US kitchen cabinet and bath
vanity market.
KCMA is the major trade association
for kitchen cabinet and bath vanity
manufacturers and key suppliers of goods
and services to the industry. All major
US cabinet manufacturing companies
belong to KCMA. 63% of KCMA cabinet
manufacturer members report sales
below $10 million annually, reflecting
the importance of small manufacturers
in the industry. P
ACIMALL: 1Q 2020 PERFORMANCE OF THE ITALIAN WOOD FURNITURE
TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY HEAVILY IMPACTED BY COVID-19
ACCORDING to the analysis of data
collected by the Studies Office of Acimall,
the Confindustria-member association
representing the Italian wood-furniture
technology industry, findings that
confirmed an immediate impact of the
lockdown caused by the COVID-19
pandemic is unsurprising. The first
quarter of 2020 closed with a widespread
reduction in woodworking machinery and
tool orders, with a two-digit decrease
involving all global markets, though with
some delay.
The quarterly survey – which involves
a representative sample of the entire
industry – has revealed a strong reduction
of orders by 21.1%, compared to the
same period of 2019. The slight delays
mentioned above have probably mitigated
the impact for international customers,
down by 19.4%, which is not so bad as
the 25.3% decline recorded by domestic
demand.
“It is clear that the widespread shrinkage
and later lockdown of production activities
has impacted the results, causing a
demand crisis that will probably influence
the entire year. The actions of national,
European and global governments and
institutions to support the economy and
each industry will be critical in the near
future," said Dario Corbetta, general
director of Acimall.
The book of orders is at 2.6 months, while
prices have been increasing by 0.8%. In
a situation that is not just “difficult”, the
revenues in Q1 obviously showed a very
different trend from orders, which was
only down by 8.8%. Basically, industry
companies could finalise and deliver all
pending orders, but uncertainty for the
future have led too many customers to
postpone all investment decisions, waiting
for a safer outlook.
QUALITY SURVEY: A STATIONARY
TREND TO BE EXPECTED
The quality survey reveals all the fears of
industry entrepreneurs: 69% of surveyed
companies expect drop in production,
19% predict some stability and only 12%
believe in a positive trend. A “stationary”
trend is also expected for employment,
according to 75% of the sample, while
6% expect an increase and 19% fear
shrinkage. Available stocks are stationary
according to 44%, increasing according
to 37% and falling according to the
remaining 19%.
SURVEY: SOME STILL HOPE TO SEE
INCREASE IN FOREIGN ORDERS
As for the sentiment for the near future,
the forecast survey shows a situation
dominated by worry – both for the trend of
domestic demand and for the poor chances
to find compensation abroad: 13% of the
interviewees expect an increase in foreign
orders, but 31% believe there will be no
change and 56% fear that the worst is yet
to come. No business owner is optimistic
about incoming orders from the Italian
wood and furniture industry: 37% hope
for some stability while 63% believe the
downward trend will continue. P