TORONTO, BEIJING — Just two years ago, the Shangxing Furniture Company was expanding as fast as it could. Almost all of its profits – about $4-million – were plowed back into new warehouses for the wooden furniture that it churned out for North American and European customers.

And then the slowdown hit. Costs soared and exports slumped. Since the start of this year, its profits have virtually disappeared. “We’re spending our savings to keep it running,” says the company’s export director, who prefers to be identified only by his surname, Liu.

“If the situation gets worse, we might have to rent out our new warehouses to other companies,” he said. “We’re suffering a cold winter in the middle of summer.”

His company is just one of a growing number of struggling producers in China’s furniture capital, the southern city of Dalingshan. Traditionally one of the biggest furniture production bases in Asia, the city is in trouble these days. Of its 280 biggest factories, at least 30 to 40 are in serious difficulty, according to a recent survey by the China National Furniture Association.

Furniture is not the only Chinese industry facing unexpected difficulties this year. After three decades of pell-mell rise from peasant society to economic powerhouse, there are signs that China’s race to riches may finally be slowing, with repercussions that could spread around the globe.

Most China watchers think the slump will be shallow and relatively brief. Still, there are enough signs of trouble to cause a buzz about China’s “post-Olympic slowdown.”

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