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Furniture giant La-Z-Boy Inc. announced plans to close three manufacturing plants and idle a fourth, laying off at least 645 workers and taking a $13 million pretax charge against earnings this year as it accelerates its shift to more foreign production. La-Z-Boy said it was taking the actions at its wood-furniture factories in the wake of preliminary U.S. antidumping tariffs against Chinese producers of wood bedroom furniture. Those tariffs were too low to alter the industry's domestic manufacturing glut, the company said. La-Z-Boy said it plans to cease production at its Pennsylvania House plant in Lewisburg, Pa., and at a...

Bassett plans to shut doors by Oct. 1, putting about 185 employees out of work Bassett Furniture Industries Inc., which came to Macon in the mid-1960s, plans to close by Oct. 1, putting about 185 employees out of work, a company official said Tuesday. Its Airport Drive manufacturing plant is the company's only facility in Georgia. In April 2003, Bassett closed its Dublin plant, cutting about 300 jobs. Fewer than 10 employees in Macon will be offered jobs at other plants, said Barry Safrit, vice president and chief financial officer. Other employees will be let go in phases during the...

Jonesboro (AP) - The Haworth office furniture plant in Jonesboro is to close its doors, putting 230 people out of work. The closure is to be complete by the end of the year. The company says it is consolidating operations to its home state of Michigan. Haworth says shipments of office furniture have dropped 40% from 2000 to 2003. The company opened its Jonesboro factory in 1998.

Posted on Tue, Jun. 29, 2004 Sumter furniture plant to close doors Associated Press SUMTER, S.C. - Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co. Inc. plans to close its Sumter manufacturing facility, putting more than 350 employees out of work. Vaughan-Bassett President and CEO John D. Bassett III and his son, Executive Vice President Wyatt Bassett, on Monday delivered the news in person to employees, saying the closure is a result of furniture being imported from China. The Bassetts say their industry has been flooded by a deluge of furniture that China is unloading on the American market below cost, which forces domestic manufacturers...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Rowe Furniture Inc. vows not to fall to imports. All it needs is a faster way to make sofas and chairs. For Bruce Birnbach, the dining room may be the scariest part of the house. It's not that he's insecure about his table manners. It's just that for Birnbach, the president and COO of Rowe Furniture Inc., the dining room represents a vision of a future he's struggling desperately to avoid. Since January 2001, at least 49 U.S. plants specializing in wood furniture -- think dining tables and bedroom sets --...

Showing its first real hint of recovery in years, Steelcase Inc. this morning announced financial results that spurred talk of a "positive turn in the economy" at the world's largest office-furniture maker. In terms of profits and losses, it is the best start of a year since 2001. After being battered for three years by the worst recession in the industry's history, Grand Rapids-based Steelcase reported quarterly results that showed sales gains and smaller losses than the same period last year. West Michigan's largest manufacturer posted sales of $597.7 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2005, up nearly 8...

Chinese exporters of furniture face tariffs from U.S. WASHINGTON — The U.S. Commerce Department slapped tariffs of as much as 198 percent on imported bedroom furniture from China, a decision that could cut the $1 billion a year of those imports and may raise prices for consumers. Most of the largest exporters of furniture, representing 80 percent of U.S. imports, will pay tariffs of 24 percent or less, with 82 of the companies paying an 11 percent tariff, according to the Commerce Department. "The duties could have been a whole lot worse," Mike Veitenheimer, a vice president for furniture retailer...

The U.S. Commerce Department on Friday imposed preliminary duties on $1.4 billion of wooden bedroom furniture entering the United States from China, but the low level of the duties made the decision a partial victory for both sides of a divided furniture industry. Furniture retailers and importers will begin paying the duties next week. They range between 4.9 percent and 198 percent, depending on the manufacturer.

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Commerce on Friday imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties of up to nearly 200 percent on $1.2 billion of wooden bedroom furniture imported from China, but said most Chinese companies would escape the highest duties. The anti-dumping case is the largest yet brought by U.S. manufacturers against their Chinese competitors and could lead to higher prices on wooden dressers, headboards and other staples of the American bedroom. The Bush administration's action follows charges by Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry that it has not aggressively enforced U.S....

BOONVILLE, N.Y. -- The doors to Ethan Allen Inc.'s furniture plant closed for the last time on Friday, ending the company's 50-year run in the village. "I have mixed emotions," said former employee Bill Taft, who stopped by for one last look. "It's a shame. There's a lot of people here that really need the jobs. This area needs a business. The company didn't see it that way, I guess."

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration on Friday proposed new tariffs on imports of Chinese-made furniture, saying companies have been dumping millions of dollars of the wooden bedroom furniture into the United States at artificially low prices. The proposed tariffs ranged from 5 percent to 198 percent on such wood items as beds, dressers, armoires and desks, the International Trade Commission said.

CHICAGO -- Take a deep breath. Exhale. There was a collective sigh of relief from manufacturers who arrived here for this week's NeoCon office-furniture show, eager to put behind an industry depression that ravaged sales of most major companies by 40 percent over the past three years. Designers, facility managers and students -- estimated at 40,000 strong -- came to the Windy City to see the latest designs and trends offered by the office-furniture industry. Better still for the industry heavily rooted in West Michigan, Designers and facility mangers came with projects in the pipeline; corporate customers are buying office-furniture...

President Bush (news - web sites) on Monday defended his record on the economy and the war in Iraq (news - web sites), appearing at a North Carolina college where he praised a partnership between local business leaders and the academic community. "Terrorists can't stand freedom," said Bush, declaring that he will "stay the course" and bring democracy to Iraq. "We're still being challenged in Iraq and the reason why is a free Iraq will be a major defeat in the cause of terror." The president said that in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, "I had a choice...

<p>STOCKHOLM, (Reuters) - Ingvar Kamprad, the Swede who founded furniture retail chain IKEA, has overtaken Microsoft's Bill Gates as the world's richest man, Swedish TV news reported on Sunday.</p> <p>Citing next week's edition of the Swedish business weekly Veckans Affarer, public service SVT2 television said Kamprad, 77, has a personal fortune of 400 billion crowns ($53 billion).</p>

<p>MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Hulking and empty brick factory buildings stand atop a bluff as a silent reminder of good times.</p> <p>Fifteen years ago, the Martinsville area produced so much athletic wear that it was known locally as the sweatshirt capital of the world. Today, battered by import competition, the plants have closed.</p>

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. LEXINGTON -- At first, it was a hailstorm that kept Anita McDaniel away from her job of 13 years. After Lexington Home Brands' furniture factory No. 12 closed last year, she was expecting to be transferred to the manufacturer's plant No. 2, as soon as damage to the plant's roof from the storm was repaired. Before McDaniel could start at the new location, her job was eliminated last May, along with 160 others at Lexington Home Brands. Since then, more of her former co-workers have joined her in the ranks of...

What a difference a day makes. Jerry Vernon, 48, of Asheville, is one of the 480 workers facing unemployment in the near future following the decision to close the Steelcase plant in Fletcher. Tuesday afternoon the parking lot at Steelcase in the Cane Creek Industrial Park was covered in snow and only a few cars were there. Wednesday most of the snow and ice had melted and workers at the office furniture production plant were back on the job, but many were reeling from the announcement that by this time next year all 480 workers at the factory will be...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. MARION, N.C. (AP) - Drexel Heritage workers were reeling from news that one of this town's oldest plants would close in April, putting 351 people out of work. "People knew it was coming, but it was like a death in the family," Drexel worker Marvin Riddle Jr. said after Thursday's announcement that the furniture factory was closing. "It was still a shock." Drexel Heritage President Jeff Young also announced the closing of a smaller veneer plant in Morganton that employs 45 workers. Both plants will be sold. "Despite improving business, our...

China's furniture makers will have to brave rough weather after a US trade panel decided to impose a possible 440 percent duty on Chinese-made wooden bedroom furniture.The United States International Trade Commission reached a preliminary approval on Friday that Chinese furniture exports have hurt the industry there.The commission urged the US Department of Commerce to investigate 135 Chinese furniture manufacturers. The investigation is expected to be finished in early May.China's US$1 billion wooden bedroom furniture exports to the US would be affected, according to the China National Furniture Association."Chinese companies should get prepared for a drawn-out battle," said Zhou Dunren,...

U.S. panel backs China furniture duties BEIJING, Jan. 12, (Xinhuanet) -- A U.S. panel gave preliminary approval Friday to import duties on more than US$1 billion of wooden bedroom furniture from China in the largest U.S. anti-dumping case yet against Chinese goods. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), on a 6-0 vote, said there was "a reasonable indication" that low-priced imports from China were harming domestic furniture makers. The ruling requires the U.S. Commerce Department to start an investigation to determine an appropriate level of offsetting duties. The ITC will then hold a final hearing in mid-year and issue a...