HVACR equipment was selling in 2013. In fact, some would describe 2013 as a banner year for HVACR shipments. According to the Air-Conditioning, Heating, & Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), shipments of residential storage water heaters, commercial storage water heaters, warm-air furnaces, central air conditioners, and air-source heat pumps increased in 2013, when compared to comparable data recorded in 2012.
Things are Looking Up
The numbers support the growing consensus in the industry that things are definitely improving. At the 2014 AHR Expo, held this January in New York City, Steve Yurek, president and CEO at AHRI, agreed that manufacturers are feeling more optimistic than they were a year ago.
“I think everybody’s feeling pretty good about 2013 — it was a good year for the industry,” Yurek said in a recent NEWSmaker podcast. “I think everyone is [feeling] very positive. I think the industry itself … has a positive outlook for 2014, both in the residential and commercial space.”
Francis Dietz, vice president of public affairs, AHRI, said the organization is happy with the shipment data and hopes to see the trend continue.
“We are pleased to see an uptick in shipments in the year-to-date numbers for these products,” he said. “[We] hope it bodes well for the industry as a whole in 2014 and beyond.”
According to the data, which was released in February, equipment shipments increased in every category AHRI tracks, but one — oil warm-air furnaces, which decreased 10.7 percent to 32,144 in 2013, compared with 35,980 units shipped during the same period in 2012.
U.S. residential storage water heater shipments increased 8.1 percent to 4,282,104 units shipped in 2013, compared to 3,959,444 units shipped in 2012. Year-to-date shipments of residential electric storage water heaters increased 7.4 percent to 4,008,478 units, compared to 3,733,988 shipped in 2013.
Commercial gas storage water heater shipments increased 10 percent to 88,539 units, compared to 80,490 units shipped in 2012. Commercial electric storage water heater shipments jumped 2.8 percent to 69,160 units, up from 67,265 units shipped in 2012.
U.S. shipments of gas warm air furnaces increased 16.0 percent to 2,601,760 units, compared with 2,243,397 units shipped during the same period in 2012.
U.S. shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps increased 9.9 percent to 6,169,700 units in 2013, up from 5,613,665 units shipped in 2012. Year-to-date shipments of central air conditioners increased 7.3 percent to 4,201,068 units, up from 3,915,869 units shipped during the same period in 2012. Year-to-date heat pump shipments increased 16.0 percent to 1,968,632 units, up from 1,697,796 units shipped in 2012.
Shipment figures are estimates that are derived from the best available data supplied by a sample of AHRI member companies.
Publication date: 3/3/2014
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