Welcome to Furniture Industry News, your source for the latest updates impacting our industry.

I'm here with you on Wednesday, July 16, 2025 and we've got some important stories to cover today that could affect your business.

Let's start with a major development that's got everyone talking President Trump's big, beautiful bill, which just passed by the narrowest of margins.

With 218 votes for and 214 against, this legislation is creating quite a stir in the furniture industry and honestly, opinions are split right down the middle on whether this will help or hurt our business.

On the positive side, the bill extends those Trump era tax cuts, which means manufacturers can keep writing off the full cost of new machinery and equipment.

If you're thinking about upgrading your production line or buying new equipment, this could save you serious money.

Small family run businesses which make up a huge part of our industry also get to keep those pass through deductions.

That's good news for the smaller operations that keep our industry running.

The bill also includes incentives to bring manufacturing back to the United States.

For places like High Point, North Carolina, this could mean more furniture production returning from overseas.

Plus, the new tariffs on imported furniture are supposed to make American made products more competitive.

And here's something that might boost sales.

Consumers are expected to have more take home pay thanks to no taxes on tips and overtime, along with higher child and standard deductions.

More money in people's pockets usually means more furniture purchases.

But hold on, because there's another side to this story.

Those same tariffs that might help American manufacturers could also drive up costs for raw materials.

If you're importing wood, foam, fabrics or hardware, you might see your costs go up, which could squeeze your profit margins.

Supply chains that have been working smoothly for years might get disrupted, especially if you're getting materials from Canada or Mexico.

Companies might have to scramble to find new suppliers or deal with delays.

There's also the big picture economic impact to consider.

This bill is expected to increase the federal deficit by 3 to 4 trillion dollars over the next decade.

That could push interest rates higher.

And if borrowing gets more expensive, it'll cost more to finance expansions or carry inventory.

Speaking of economic pressures, the housing market continues to face challenges that directly impact furniture sales.

New mortgage applications for home purchases dropped 4.5% in May compared to last year, and they're down 9% from April.

The average loan size has increased to over $379,000 and new home sales fell to 631,000 units.

That's a 12% drop from April.

What's driving this decline?

Economic uncertainty, rising mortgage rates near 7%, and more competition from existing home sales when people aren't buying homes, not buying furniture to fill them.

The good news is that median earnings are up 5.8% compared to last year.

But those gains are being eaten up by higher housing costs and mortgage rates.

Now let's talk about something that's changing how we all work.

Artificial Intelligence A new survey from Houzz shows that about one third of construction and design professionals are already using AI in their businesses.

Those who are using it report saving more than three hours per week, which translates to over $108,000 in annual productivity gains per business.

That's nothing to sneeze at.

The survey found that 66% of professionals believe AI will transform the industry within the next five years.

Larger firms with more than 10 employees are leading the way.

5 0% of big design firms are already using AI, compared to 31% of all design firms.

People are using AI for administrative tasks, content creation and project management.

But there are concerns too reliability and accuracy of AI outputs, data security and the need for better training.

What's interesting is that while the design and construction industry is embracing AI, many businesses still aren't ready for AI powered shopping.

A new survey shows that 78% of business owners expect AI shopping tools to significantly change how consumers find products in the next year.

But here's the 87% haven't audited their product pages for AI tools in the past six months, and 65% aren't taking steps to optimize for AI discovery.

If you're selling furniture online, this is something you need to pay attention to.

Almost half of the businesses surveyed say their product pages aren't AI readable today.

The main reasons are that they haven't prioritized it yet.

They're unclear about what AI tools to look for, and they're not sure if their metadata is set up correctly.

About 60% of respondents feel their competitors are more prepared for AI driven discovery than they are.

Switching gears to logistics J.B. hunt, one of the major transportation companies that many furniture businesses rely on, had a flat second quarter.

Their revenue came in at $2.93 billion, essentially unchanged from last year.

While they saw increases in some areas like intermodal loads and truckload volume, they also had a 10% decline in final mile services revenue.

Operating income dropped 4% due to higher casualty claims, medical expenses and driver wages for furniture companies that depend on transportation services.

This mixed performance at J.B. hunt reflects the broader challenges in the logistics industry, higher costs and capacity constraints continue to be issues.

Finally, let's talk about construction costs, which affect commercial furniture projects.

Construction material prices were up 0.2% in June, and overall commercial construction input prices have increased a whopping 44.6% since February 2020.

That's a significant increase that affects everything from office build outs to retail spaces.

Some specific increases included adhesives and sealants, up 8%, construction machinery up 7%, and plumbing fixtures up 4%.

However, there were some decreases too.

Iron and steel prices fell 3.8% and softwood lumber dropped 1.9%.

The chief economist at Associated Builders and Contractors noted that many inputs affected by tariffs like iron and steel declined in June.

As we wrap up today's show, it's clear that our industry is dealing with a complex mix of challenges and opportunities.

From the Big Beautiful Bill's mixed impacts to AI adoption and housing market pressures and rising construction costs, there's a lot to navigate.

The key is staying informed and adapting to these changes as they unfold.

Thanks for tuning in to Furniture Industry News.

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