Overview

Introduction

"The United States furniture industry is in trouble," begins a report from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School. "Lower cost structures, improved quality and efficient distribution from overseas producers are forcing U.S. firms to source goods offshore from countries like China. With one-third of the [case goods segment] residing in North Carolina, the local economy is struggling to survive. Unable to compete on a cost basis, companies are closing down their domestic operations and jobs are being lost."

The furniture industry of North Carolina has been a huge part of North Carolina's economy for a long time.  But this may be changing.  This page will explore the different facets of North Carolina's furniture industry.

Industry Profile

The furniture and fixtures industry is a subsegment of the forest products industry and is itself broken up into the segments of:

• Household Furniture
• Office Furniture
• Public Buildings and Related
• Partitions and Fixtures
• Misc. Furniture and Fixtures

Social Composition of Furniture Labor

The majority of furniture workers are white.  In 1997 whites comprised 80.7% of the household furniture labor force with African Americans accounting for 12.3% and Latinos 5.3% of total employment.  The current trend shows an increase in the number of Latinos entering the furniture sector, particularly in manual labor positions.  Skilled craft jobs make up 35.5% of total white employment, 27.0% of African American and 25.8% of Latinos.  These comparable figures suggest that Latino furniture workers are on “nearly equal footing with the African American labor force” and approaching that of whites.  Along gender lines, the labor force is fairly evenly divided between men and women.  Most are in their late thirties or older and have a high school education or less.  Both of these factors can pose challenges to worker retraining efforts.

Wage Information by Jobs

The furniture and fixtures industry is classified under the Standard Industrial Code as 25.  The 1998 North Carolina Employment Security Commission Report claims that 75,432 workers are employed in the furniture and fixtures industry, equating to over 9% of the manufacturing workforce of the state and ranking as the 2nd largest
segment in manufacturing.  For 10 years, jobs specifically in "manufacturing wood household furniture in North Carolina have eroded by nearly one-third, from more than 31,600 in 1993 to 21,557 last year, according to state Employment Security Commission data." (Fading Future, Herald Sun).

Graphs of Employment and Trends and Unadjusted Earnings Trends are included in "The Furniture and Fixtures Industry of North Carolina Report." I am in the process of trying to get copies of the charts, but for now the reports are only available in PDF format and therefore I can't just copy and past them. In interpreting the graphs, which are based on numbers generated from the NC Employment Security Commission's Annual Report, it is clear that the numbers employed in the industry have been steadily falling over time, while the unadjusted earnings for workers has steadily grown. In 1990, nearly 85,000 workers were employed in the industry, but by 1998 only 75,000 workers had jobs in the industry. In contrast, the average annual earning for a worker in the furniture and fixtures industry in 1990 was $18,000, by 1998 the average had risen to nearly $23,000.  Some of the increase in earning could be due to inflation, but at this point I do not have information explaining the rise.

In comparing the NC average wage versus the United States average wage in the Furniture and Fixtures industry, the average wage of North Carolina workers falls below the National average. US workers in the industry make on average $521.00 weekly and $13.03 hourly, while North Carolina workers make only $487.33 and $12.18, respectively.

Jobs by Region

North Carolina is one of the nation’s leading furniture manufacturing states.  Although the benefits of the industry ripple throughout the state because of industry supplier locations and overall economic impact, the furniture industry in North Carolina affects some areas of the state to a much larger extent than others.

Western North Carolina produces almost all of the state’s furniture.  When the state is broken down into seven smaller regions based on location and economic development, the three most important regions, in terms of the furniture industry, lie in the western part of the state.  The Piedmont Triad, Charlotte Region, and Advantage West areas are home to 288, 249, and 149 furniture establishments, respectively (according to year 2000 figures).  This total of 486 is significantly larger than the 95 establishments in North Carolina’s eastern half. 

These regions are not only home to the greatest number of establishments.  Almost all of the furniture industry’s major employers are located in western North Carolina.  In fact, all of the top 15 employers are located in the west.  (see Largest Furniture Companies table).

Timeline

1900 - During the Reconstruction after the Civil War, the furniture industry comes to    High Point, NC to take advantage of its vast natural resources and favorable climate.

1939 - NC becomes nation’s leader in producing all wooden household furnishings.

1941- Furniture factories shift to accommodate the World War II effort by producing bunk beds, wooden plugs for bombs, tent stakes, etc.

1966 – InterCo, a spin-off of the International Shoe Company, becomes a player in the furniture industry.

1994 – InterCo acquires brand names Broyhill and Thomasville to become largest residential furniture manufacturer in the United States.  Changes name to Furniture Brands International.

1994 – US, Canada, and Mexico sign NAFTA.

1995 – World Trade Organization established

1995 – 3 NC furniture factories close.

2000 – 11 NC furniture factories close.

2002 - U.S. trade deficit for residential wood and upholstered furniture and components mushrooms from $2.43 billion to $11.14 billion.

2003 – 16 NC furniture factories close.

2005 – According to the WTO, China will eliminate its tariff rate on all imported furniture items.

Major Companies