Despite American Furniture Factories Closing, American-Made Furniture Still Available

By Pinewood Furniture

It’s no secret that manufacturing is a dying industry in this country, and many furniture companies have been among the casualties.

However, despite these troubles, some factories have survived, allowing quality, American-made furniture to be sold at outlets like Pinewood Furniture in Manchester.

Pinewood Furniture opened in 1955 and is still going strong today, offering customers several different styles and colors of real wood furniture.

According to the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, over three million U.S. manufacturing jobs have disappeared since 1998, and it is estimated that over 1.8 million were lost due to off-shoring. U.S. furniture manufacturing has lost about one in three jobs since about 2000.

“We’ve lost two factories already this year,” said Ed Firestone. “Looking back at records from past years, many factories are gone. I used to go to unfinished furniture shows and they would have 120 exhibitors. The last show they had – two years ago – had 18 exhibitors. There are less than 100 stores nationwide in unfinished furniture right now because so many have closed.”

Most of the furniture we see today is made overseas and is then imported. Approximately 76 percent of furniture is imported, but when you get to items like dressers or chests, that number jumps to 85 percent.

While there may be some good quality furniture coming in from these places, in general, the quality is lower. These companies use a lot of medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and particleboard in their products.

But if you want quality furniture that was made in America, you can still find it.

Stop by Pinewood Furniture and see what quality and craftsmanship really look like.