HARDI's Targeted and Regional Economic News for Distribution Strategies (TRENDS) newsletter reported growth in six of the group's seven regions; five had double-digit gains.

March was a good month for HVAC wholesalers with North American sales up an average of 11.5 percent among HARDI members.

The Heating, Airconditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International’s monthly Targeted and Regional Economic News for Distribution Strategies (TRENDS) newsletter reported growth in six of the group’s seven regions; five had double-digit gains.

“The annual growth rate improved for the third straight month, rising above 3 percent,” said HARDI economist Andrew Duguay.  “March sales, on average, were 11.5 percent higher than March 2011, building off the 9.6 percent February gain. Momentum from the rates-of-change is clearly positive. The activity at the distributor level is also being reflected in national consumer data. Retail sales have also shifted to higher growth rates in 2012 - from 1.7 percent in January to 1.9 percent in March. This is a positive confirming indicator for the current HARDI distributor growth rate trend.”

HARDI Executive Vice President and COO Talbot Gee said members are feeling good.

“Optimism is high as we see distributors stocking up more strategically for strong anticipated demand this summer,” Gee said. “Light-commercial markets appear to be a source of unexpectedly strong growth, and the early heat has provided a nice jump-start to the cooling season.”