Aug. 11—HIGH POINT — Inflation appeared to be taking a bite out of the retail furniture business in May as new orders sagged and some buyers canceled orders they had placed earlier, according to a recent report drawn from surveys of furniture companies.

New orders in May were down 41% compared with May 2021, though business in 2021 was in high gear, according to the latest "Furniture Insights" report from the Smith Leonard accounting and consulting firm in High Point. Nearly 90% of the businesses surveyed reported declines in new orders.

"In addition, recently there have been several companies who have canceled orders due to the slowdown in business at retail," the report said.

New orders in the first five months of this year were down 25% from the same period in 2021 but in dollar terms were still higher than during the same period in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the economy.

Slowdowns in sales were not across the board, the report said.

"From most of what we are hearing, it seems that the higher inflation is probably affecting retail more at the lower and lower-middle price points. While most seem to feel that business overall is slowing some, those lower price points seem to be hurting more," it said.

One positive effect of the slowdown for those customers still awaiting furniture they ordered is that production backlogs, which became a problem during 2021, have dropped, down 8% in May compared to April and down 4% from May 2021, the report said.

Also, shipments overall in May were up 10% compared to May 2021 and 7% over the first five months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, the report said.

The report expressed an on-the-fence stance on whether the economy is in recession.

"Some say the two-quarter drop in (gross domestic product) says we are. Others say that GDP is not the correct measure. In the last 50 years, there has been no recession when the unemployment rate has been less than 4%. And since we are still adding jobs, it appears that rate will continue to be low," it said. "But whether we are or not, clearly the economy has stalled."