Season
Two markets a year, in April and October. Everything downstream is scheduled from them.
Commodity playbook
Who ships furniture
| Shipper | Town | County |
|---|---|---|
| Ashley Furniture | Arcadia, WI | Trempealeau |
| La-Z-Boy | Monroe, MI | Monroe |
| Ethan Allen | Danbury, CT | Fairfield |
| Bassett Furniture | Bassett, VA | Henry |
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Head offices of four manufacturers. La-Z-Boy's US plants are in Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas, and Ashley manufactures across several states.
Ask for the plant or distribution centre transportation manager. Furniture is high cube, low weight and extremely damage-prone, and the industry knows it. There is also a distinct opportunity around the two markets: showroom setup and teardown in High Point generates concentrated, deadline-driven freight twice a year that sits outside the normal network.
Where it hauls
Three origins. Domestic manufacturing concentrates in the Carolinas and Virginia, with upholstery in Mississippi and Tennessee and case goods in Wisconsin and the midwest. Imports arrive through the west coast and southeast ports and move inland to distribution centres. High Point, North Carolina is the commercial centre for all of it, and the showroom freight around the two markets is itself a real logistics event. The makers to know:
How to open
"Do you need capacity around market, or is it the ongoing distribution you're short on? I can help with either."
To the manufacturers and importers, January into FebruaryMentioning market by name is the shibboleth. Everyone in this business organises their year around April and October in High Point, and a broker who knows that is immediately in a different category.
Qualifying questions
- What does it cube versus weigh? Furniture is the archetypal cube-out load: a trailer fills completely at a fraction of legal weight. Count pieces and cartons, never tons.
- How is it protected? Damage is the entire risk. Corners crush, finishes scuff and upholstery marks. Confirm blanket wrap versus cartoned, and whether they expect load bars, decking or airbags.
- Is it blanket wrap or cartoned? Cartoned goods palletize and handle conventionally. Blanket wrap is a specialised service with its own equipment and handling standards. Establish which before you quote.
- Is this market freight? Showroom setup and teardown around High Point in April and October is deadline-critical and completely unlike normal distribution. It pays differently and forgives nothing on timing.
- Domestic plant or import distribution centre? Plant outbound follows a production schedule. Import distribution centre freight follows vessel arrivals and container availability. Different rhythms, so ask which.
When to call
January and February, ahead of the spring market and the shipping that follows it. The rhythm is set by the two shows: orders written in April ship through summer, orders written in October ship into the new year. Around the markets themselves there is a short, intense burst of showroom freight into and out of High Point.
Sources
- High Point Market: the largest home furnishings industry trade show in the world, with over 11 million square feet and about 2,000 exhibitors across roughly 180 buildings, holding two shows a year in April and October and attracting between 70,000 and 80,000 attendees. Ashley Furniture headquartered in Arcadia, Wisconsin; La-Z-Boy's primary US manufacturing in Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas. highpointmarket.org
- The January to February call window and the order-to-shipment rhythm following each market. Reasoned from the show calendar rather than a manufacturer's stated schedule.