65 Wood Furniture Statistics on Production, Trade, Prices, Employment, and Waste

Wood furniture statistics show a major shift in the U.S. industry: nonupholstered wood household furniture shipments declined through the 2000s while imports grew, and later research found domestic shipments and consumption remained below earlier levels. The measures below distinguish shipments, imports, prices, employment, consumption, and all-wood municipal solid waste.

Key Wood Furniture Statistics

The most useful headline figures are:

• In 2001, U.S. nonupholstered wood household furniture shipments were $10,537 million.
• In 2001, U.S. imports of nonupholstered wood household furniture were $6,355 million c.i.f.
• In 2004, the import-to-shipment ratio for U.S. nonupholstered wood household furniture was 1.06.
• In 2007, U.S. nonupholstered wood household furniture shipments were $6,659 million.
• In 2008, U.S. imports of nonupholstered wood household furniture were $9,609 million c.i.f.
• In 2001, real U.S. nonupholstered wood household furniture shipments were $6,073 million in 1982 dollars.
• In 2008, real U.S. nonupholstered wood household furniture imports were $4,805 million in 1982 dollars.
• The U.S. wood household furniture producer price index reached 207.6 in the 2009 annual average, with 1982 equal to 100.
• U.S. nonupholstered wood household furniture employment was 86.3 thousand employees in 2004.
• U.S. nonupholstered wood household furniture employment was 42.4 thousand employees in the 2009 annual average.
• From 2000 to 2009, real domestic shipments by U.S. wood-consuming furniture manufacturers fell 51%.
• From 2000 to 2019, real domestic shipments by U.S. wood-consuming furniture manufacturers were 48% below 2000 levels.
• Imports represented 23% of available U.S. wood household furniture value in 1997.
• Imports represented 78% of available U.S. wood household furniture value in 2019.
• From 2005 to 2019, U.S. wood household furniture consumption fell 45%.
• From 2005 to 2019, U.S. domestic wood household furniture shipments fell 75%.
• In 2018, all wood in U.S. municipal solid waste generation was estimated at 18.09 million tons.
• In 2018, all wood materials accounted for 6.2% of U.S. municipal solid waste generation.
• In 2018, wood recycling in the U.S. was estimated at 3.10 million tons.

Contents

• Wood furniture production and shipments
• Wood furniture imports and domestic market share
• Wood furniture prices and inflation-adjusted values
• Wood furniture manufacturing employment trends
• Wood furniture consumption and industry change
• Wood material waste and recycling

Wood Furniture Production and Shipments Statistics

USDA Forest Service data for U.S. nonupholstered wood household furniture reports nominal shipments from 2001 through 2008. These are shipment values in millions of U.S. dollars, not a complete measure of every wood product or retail sales.

The source is Hardwood Product Prices, Production, and Employment, USDA Forest Service Tables 12, 13, and 15. The series is nominal, so comparisons across years should be read alongside the producer-price data below.

Wood Furniture Imports and Domestic Market Share Data

Imports rose across the same USDA series even as domestic shipments generally declined. The import figures are U.S. imports valued c.i.f.; they are not domestic production and should not be treated as a retail-market total.

The import-to-shipment ratio is a ratio, not a market-share percentage. The USDA source calculates it for nonupholstered wood household furniture; its import values are c.i.f. and its shipment values are domestic shipments.

See Hardwood Product Prices, Production, and Employment.

Wood Furniture Prices and Inflation-Adjusted Values

The USDA tables also provide derived real values in 1982 dollars. Deflation with the source price index makes these figures useful for separating price movement from nominal value, but they remain specific to the source’s defined U.S. product population.

The source’s wood household furniture producer price index, where 1982 equals 100, was 180.6 in 2004, 186.2 in 2005, 190.7 in 2006, 193.8 in 2007, 200.0 in 2008, and 207.6 for the 2009 annual average. These observed index values are reproduced from BLS data in USDA Table 12; the real shipment and import figures are derived with the source price index.

Source: Hardwood Product Prices, Production, and Employment.

Wood Furniture Manufacturing Employment Trends

Employment in U.S. nonupholstered wood household furniture manufacturing decreased each year from 2004 through the 2009 annual average in the USDA series. The unit is thousands of employees, and the source specifically notes that 2009 is an annual average.

These employment observations describe the nonupholstered wood household furniture population, not all jobs connected to forestry, furniture retail, logistics, or other furniture categories. Source: Hardwood Product Prices, Production, and Employment.

Wood Furniture Consumption and Industry Change

A peer-reviewed USDA Forest Service study broadens the time frame to 1997–2019 and distinguishes wood household furniture, upholstered household furniture, wood office furniture, and wood-consuming furniture manufacturers. Its measures describe production, net imports, and consumption rather than a single retail-sales series.

• From 2000 to 2009, real domestic shipments by U.S. wood-consuming furniture manufacturers fell 51%.
• From 2000 to 2019, real domestic shipments by U.S. wood-consuming furniture manufacturers were 48% below 2000 levels.
• Imports rose from 23% of available U.S. wood household furniture value in 1997 to 78% in 2019.
• From 2005 to 2019, U.S. wood household furniture consumption fell 45%.
• From 2005 to 2019, U.S. domestic wood household furniture shipments fell 75%.
• From 2000 to 2019, wood office furniture consumption fell 40%, while wood office furniture shipments fell 41%; this is a related category rather than the household-furniture series.
• For comparison, upholstered furniture imports represented 6% of available U.S. upholstered household furniture value in 1997 and 35% in 2019; this is a separate comparison population.

The study’s “available value” measures are its study-defined domestic availability measure, so the import percentages should not be read as a universal retail market-share definition. Source: Analyzing changes in the U.S. wood furniture industry from 1997 to 2019: production, net imports, and consumption.

Wood Material Waste and Recycling Statistics

EPA data provides a useful materials context, but it is broader than furniture. The 2018 estimates cover all wood in U.S. municipal solid waste, including furniture, durable goods, packaging, and other wood materials.

Because the EPA series is material-specific rather than furniture-only, it cannot identify how much of the generation or recycling total came from wood furniture. It is best used as a broad end-of-life and material-flow indicator.

Source: Wood: Material-Specific Data.