(Editor: Leona)

Bedding units jumped 15.1% in December while the wholesale dollar value of bedding shipments soared 25.1%, according to an industry report.

Those stellar gains may have been sparked, in part, by late orders by major retailers designed to trigger volume rebates, bedding observers said.

The robust results were fueled by substantial gains for specialty sleep sets. Specialty mattress units jumped 25.6% in December, while the wholesale dollar value of specialty mattresses was up 32.1%.

But innerspring mattresses also performed well in December, with innerspring mattress units jumping 15.5% and the dollar value of innerspring mattress shipments increasing by 25.0%, according to the December Bedding Barometer report issued by the International Sleep Products Assn.

That report, which reflects the performance of a majority of industry producers, said the industry recorded an overall unit gain of 2.8% for the year, with the wholesale dollar value of bedding shipments rising by 7.2%. For the year, the average unit price jumped 4.2% to $226.33.

Despite the huge gains by specialty mattresses in December, the innerspring category outperformed the specialty category for the full year, the ISPA report said. Innerspring mattress units were up 3.6% for the year, well ahead of the 2.5% gain recorded by specialty mattress units. And innerspring mattress dollars were up 8.7% for the year, compared to 7.6% dollar growth for specialty mattresses, ISPA said.

The yearly figures are preliminary. ISPA’s final report on 2014 won’t be issued for a few more months.

The Bedding Barometer reports reflect the performance of 14 U.S. bedding producers who accounted for about 70% of total units in 2013 and about 78% of the total wholesale value of bedding shipments that year.

For its annual reports, ISPA conducts a more detailed survey of bedding producers.

If the results of the December Bedding Barometer are confirmed in the annual report, it will mark the second straight year that the innerspring segment outperformed the specialty segment. But bedding observers note that the line between innerspring and specialty bedding is blurring as hybrid sleep sets, which combine innersprings and specialty foams, gain popularity on retail floors.

ISPA also presented a quarterly breakdown of industry performance that showed specialty mattress units up 10.7% for the fourth quarter, ahead of a 9.0% gain for innerspring mattress units. Specialty mattress dollars were up 14.5% in the fourth quarter, compared to 13.6% growth for innerspring mattress dollars.

ISPA cautions that its Bedding Barometer reports don’t necessarily reflect the performance of the full industry because of market share and distribution shifts, and other factors.