According to a report seen by Leather International magazine automotive sales for US vehicles continued to fall last month (April). Ford reported a sales decline of 7%, General Motors 9% and Daimler Chrysler 10%. GM said non truck or SUV sales dropped by 22%. It is unknown if the sales declines proportionately affected leather consumption, but it can be assumed that sales of models with leather had to suffer some degree of a downturn.
In terms of furniture leather BBO Seidman reported this week that US furniture factory orders were down 12% in February, feeling the effects of poor weather in the North East of the country.
The report said that shipments were down 4% from the same month a year earlier. However, like automotive sales, it is difficult to ascertain the direct impact on leather consumption, but with a 40% share of sofa’s, it would be safe to assume that less leather was used by manufacturers than the month before.
