Already observable since the third quarter, the strong growth in incoming orders within the German furniture industry became increasingly evident in the turnover figures towards the end of the year. After the increases already achieved in October and November, industry turnover rose even more strongly in December. The upward trend in domestic business continued, whereas it slackened off again in the case of export business. According to figures compiled by the Association of the German Furniture Industry (VDM) on the basis of data from the Federal Statistical Office, total turnover increased by 8.8% to €1.405bn. The last time a similarly high level was achieved in the month of December was in 2016 (€1.408bn). Domestic turnover, at a value of €991.8m, exceeded the preceding year’s figure by 14.3%; export turnover, in contrast, declined by 2.5% to €414m. Both import (+6.6% to €1.193bn) and export (+1.5% to €538m) business contributed to the turnover growth recorded in November. October, on the other hand, concluded with contrasting turnover development in domestic (+4.9% to €1.158bn) and export (-2.8% to €536m) business, as had been the case in August and September. Overall, this resulted in turnover growth of 2.3% to €1.695bn.

During the course of the year, a decline was recorded in total turnover of the German furniture industry in six of the twelve months. Following slight declines in the first quarter, significant slumps were then recorded from mid-March due to the corona-related closures of the brick-and-mortar furniture trade, and also in April and May because of the subsequent production adjustments in the furniture industry. The easing that took place from May onwards then facilitated slight turnover growth for the German furniture industry again in June. In July, another slight decline in industry turnover was recorded. From August onwards, figures consistently exceeded those recorded in the respective months of the preceding year.