COLUMBUS, Ohio — Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) released its monthly TRENDS report, showing average sales for HARDI distributor members increased by 9.9 percent in March 2016.
 
The annualized growth for the 12 months through March 2016 was 6 percent. The annual growth rate has remained very close to 6 percent for the past six months.
 
“This is a good start to the year after 11.7 percent growth in February,” said Brian Loftus, HARDI Market Research and Benchmarking analyst. “The performance this month was consistent across the country. We segregate the U.S. into seven economic regions and the slowest regional growth was 7.5 percent.”
 
“The strength of the consumer is helping HARDI members churn ahead,” said Connor Lokar, senior economist for HARDI. “Retail Sales excluding Gas Stations are up 4.2 percent over the last 12 months versus the same period one year ago.”
 
The Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills, is now 48.8. “This compares favorably to this time of year recently,” said Loftus. “The relative improvement indicates customers are comfortably meeting their obligations while sales activity is brisk.”
 
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.