COLUMBUS, Ohio — Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) released its monthly TRENDS report, showing average sales for HARDI distributor members increased by 12 percent in June 2015.

The annualized growth through June 2015 was 5.3 percent. This rate has been declining since last fall but the latest report is a slight improvement from May.

“The weather was challenging for HVACR sales for much of the country in May,” said Brian Loftus, HARDI Market Research and Benchmarking analyst. “June caught some of that delayed activity and had one extra billing day than June of 2014.”

“The Western region was the star of this month’s report,” said Loftus. “The Western region had 37 percent more cooling degree days this June than last, helping to boost sales in the region by 22.8 percent versus a double-digit gain the prior year.”

“The U.S. economy is in its fourth month of deceleration,” said Connor Lokar, senior economist, HARDI. “We expect growth to continue to slow through the second half of the year, but have seen improvement for two consecutive months in the ITR Leading Indicator and three straight months of rise by the U.S. Leading Indicator. These inputs are signaling the reacceleration we expect for the U.S. economy in early 2016.”

The Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills, is now at 49. “The DSO is tracing its normal seasonal pattern,” said Loftus. “It peaked in April in the low 50s and is measuring as expected with the this latest report.”

HARDI members do not receive financial compensation in exchange for their monthly sales data and can discontinue their participation without prior notice or penalty. Participation is voluntary, and the depth of market coverage varies from region to region. An independent entity collects and compiles the data that can include products not directly associated with the HVACR industry.