COLUMBUS, Ohio, — Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) distributor members’ average sales increased by 4.4 percent in January 2019, according to the organization’s monthly TRENDS report. The average annualized growth for the 12 months through January 2019 is 10.4 percent.

“January and February are the slowest months of the year for HARDI distributors,” said Brian Loftus, market research and benchmarking analyst, HARDI. “This year got off to a 4.4 percent start, which looks pretty good when you realize it is being compared to a month [January 2018] that had a 19.4 percent gain.”

January sales growth came in lower than what we’ve grown accustomed to seeing over the last six months, but given the difficult comps, a positive growth rate is a great outcome, said Paul Hallmann, economist, HARDI.

“Comps will soften up for the next few months before trending towards double digits as we enter the summer months,” he said.

The Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills, is now at 48.5 days.

“The past few years, the DSO has remained in a fairly consistent annual pattern,” said Loftus. “January was a day longer than January of 2018, which was a day longer than 2017.  It looks like another tile in the ‘slowing economy’ mosaic.”

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. For more information, visit www.hardinet.org/benchmarking.

Publication date: 03/04/19