Top navigation skipped
Furniture and Related Product ManufacturingNAICS 337 Overview
Subsector Snapshot | Printable (PDF)
Introduction
This subsector includes products for households and offices, such as mattresses, blinds and shades, kitchen cabinets, countertops and parts and frames. The most common materials for production are metal, wood, plastic and textiles. Businesses in this subsector may combine design processes for their products.
Fast Facts
- Furniture and related product manufacturing provided about 23,140 direct Texas jobs in 2016.
- The subsector’s gross state product (GSP) totaled $1.4 billion in 2015.
- Its annual wages averaged about $41,600 in 2016.
- Subsector exports from Texas were valued at $578.5 million in 2016.
Long-Term Employment Trends
Texas employment in furniture product manufacturing rose by 67 percent from 1990 through 2000, peaking at 34,300 jobs. The Texas job count mostly remained steady until the recession of 2008. In 2017, subsector employment in Texas was 13 percent above 1990’s level. In the nation as a whole, by contrast, subsector employment fell by 35 percent (Exhibit 1).
Subsector Economic Output Trends
The furniture and related product subsector’s Texas inflation-adjusted GSP fell by 14 percent from 1997 to 2015, while the U.S. subsector’s output declined by 26 percent
(Exhibit 2).
Exhibit 1: Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing, Percent Change in Employment, U.S. vs. Texas 1990 to 2017 (Indexed to 1990)
| Year | U.S. | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0% | 0% |
| 1991 | -7% | -1% |
| 1992 | -6% | 3% |
| 1993 | -4% | 12% |
| 1994 | 0% | 22% |
| 1995 | 1% | 27% |
| 1996 | 0% | 32% |
| 1997 | 2% | 41% |
| 1998 | 7% | 49% |
| 1999 | 11% | 57% |
| 2000 | 13% | 67% |
| 2001 | 7% | 61% |
| 2002 | 0% | 56% |
| 2003 | -5% | 50% |
| 2004 | -5% | 50% |
| 2005 | -6% | 52% |
| 2006 | -7% | 61% |
| 2007 | -12% | 54% |
| 2008 | -21% | 40% |
| 2009 | -36% | 19% |
| 2010 | -41% | 10% |
| 2011 | -41% | 6% |
| 2012 | -42% | 7% |
| 2013 | -40% | 7% |
| 2014 | -38% | 7% |
| 2015 | -37% | 10% |
| 2016 | -35% | 13% |
| 2017 | -35% | 13% |
Sources: Texas Workforce Commission and Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Exhibit 2: Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing, Percent Change in Real GDP, U.S. vs. Texas, 1997 to 2015 (Indexed to 1997)
| Year | U.S. | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 0% | 0% |
| 1998 | 1% | 1% |
| 1999 | 6% | 15% |
| 2000 | 10% | 16% |
| 2001 | -1% | 7% |
| 2002 | -3% | 4% |
| 2003 | -5% | 0% |
| 2004 | 2% | 7% |
| 2005 | 7% | 15% |
| 2006 | 9% | 30% |
| 2007 | -1% | 14% |
| 2008 | -15% | -4% |
| 2009 | -38% | -15% |
| 2010 | -37% | 8% |
| 2011 | -36% | 4% |
| 2012 | -37% | -19% |
| 2013 | -32% | -13% |
| 2014 | -28% | -16% |
| 2015 | -26% | -14% |
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Subsector and Industry Concentration in Texas
One method to measure a subsector’s regional strength is the location quotient (LQ), a ratio of the subsector’s share of employment in a region to its share of employment in the U.S. as a whole; the higher the LQ value, the more “concentrated” the industry. LQ values often are used to identify regional strengths and inform economic development and investment decisions.
A high LQ can identify a regional industry that enjoys a competitive advantage compared to other regions; an LQ below 1.00 can indicate competitive weakness. A regional LQ of at least 1.25 (meaning the subsector’s regional share of total employment is 25 percent greater than in the U.S.) can indicate an exporting subsector and the presence of a regional “industry cluster,” a group of interrelated firms providing related products or services and sharing similar needs for workers and suppliers.
Texas’ statewide 0.72 LQ in furniture and related product manufacturing indicates the subsector is not highly competitive. The only industry within the subsector with an LQ above 1.00 is the “Other Furniture Related Product Manufacturing” (Exhibit 3).
A regional assessment of employment concentration is useful, however, as the size of Texas’ economy and workforce can obscure regional industry strengths. The furniture and related product manufacturing subsector does have above-average employment concentrations in Texas’ Central, Upper East and Metroplex regions (Exhibit 4).
Exhibit 3: Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing in Texas: Industries
| Industries | NAICS | 2016 Jobs | 2010 to 2016 % Change |
2016 Average Wages |
2016 Location Quotient |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing | 337 | 23,142 | 3.50% | $41,559 | 0.72 |
| Household and Institutional Furniture and Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturing | 3371 | 15,157 | 5.40% | $40,907 | 0.74 |
| Office Furniture (including Fixtures) Manufacturing | 3372 | 4,321 | 0.30% | $45,673 | 0.49 |
| Other Furniture Related Product Manufacturing | 3379 | 3,664 | -0.30% | $39,406 | 1.18 |
Source: Emsi and Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Exhibit 4: Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing LQ and Employment by Region, 2016
| Region | 2016 Location Quotient |
2016 Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Central | 1.63 | 2,115 |
| Upper East | 1.34 | 1,530 |
| Metroplex | 1.23 | 11,621 |
| Capital | 0.64 | 1,710 |
| Upper Rio Grande | 0.41 | 372 |
| Alamo | 0.39 | 1,179 |
| Gulf Coast | 0.39 | 3,105 |
| Northwest | 0.38 | 219 |
| Southeast | 0.32 | 230 |
| South | 0.28 | 623 |
| West | 0.22 | 159 |
| High Plains | 0.21 | 214 |
| Texas | 0.72 | 23,142 |
Source: Emsi and Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Conclusion
Manufacturing continues to drive output and productivity in the Texas economy, creating jobs paying well above the statewide average. It also contributes significantly to job creation in other industries, particularly in design operations and services.
The furniture and related product subsector is likely to benefit from rising home sales and housing starts. It will, however, continue to contend with import competition. Subsector businesses also are adapting to demographic and societal shifts, including a shift to smaller and multi-purpose items to accommodate renters and single-person households. Demand for home office furniture also is increasing as more workers telecommute.