HVAC Distributors See Biggest Monthly Sales Gain in 2 Years Mar 12, 2013

Printable format  Email this Article  Search

U.S. HVACR average distributor monthly sales reversed course in a big way in January 2013. After a decrease of 1.8% in December 2012, average distributor monthly sales gained 19.4% in January 2013, according to the Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI).

Six of the seven regions surveyed by HARDI saw double-digit increases in sales in January. The month-over-month improvement was the biggest since November 2010, and moved the 12-month growth rate to 6.4%, up from a rate of 5.6% in 2012.

"We expected some bounce back from the weak December numbers and January did not disappoint," said HARDI Economist Andrew Duguay. "Now that the 'fiscal cliff' is behind us and tax rates are a little clearer, consumers and businesses are more comfortable to proceed with spending to repair or replace their aging HVACR equipment."

A 21.7% gain reported by the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States is partially attributed to the on-going cleanup from Hurricane Sandy. The Western region reported the fastest pace of the HARDI regions in January. Duguay noted this performance "correlates well with the strong year-over-year growth in many of the regions' housing markets as they recover from recessionary lows."

Back to Daily News