ACHR NEWS Editorial Staff

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The August TRENDS report from Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) showed sales by participating member distributors increased by 4.5% during the month.

The annual sales growth for the previous 12 months, through August 2023, was 5.7%.

“August is the last meaningful month of cooling season, and this summer was mixed,” said Brian Loftus, HARDI’s macroeconomic and residential market analyst. “There were some unusual heatwaves in the headlines this summer, but nationally the cooling degree days were off by about 20% during May and June, then close to normal during July and August.”

The Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills, was near 40 days during August. “The DSO is shortest during the summer and longest during winter,” said Loftus. “The post-Covid DSO for August has been very close to 40 since August 2020. The stability or consistency is amazing, especially after the Fed’s (Federal Reserve) actions and the market’s response.

“HARDI distributors' peak annual sales growth rate was just before the Fed began increasing rates during March of 2022,” continued Loftus. “Distributor sales growth has been under pressure as the Fed increased rates eleven times during the past eighteen months. Hopefully the Fed is about done, along with the downward pressure on distributor sales growth.” 

Members do not receive financial compensation in exchange for providing HARDI with monthly sales data and can discontinue participation in the survey 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, which can include sales data about products not directly associated with the HVACR industry.