ARLINGTON, VA — Combined U.S. factory shipments of unitary air conditioners and air-source heat pumps for October, totaling 405,136, were down 2% compared to October 1998, according to Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) statistics.

Year-to-date shipments of 5,880,938 units are 5% ahead of last year.

Heat pump shipments by themselves were down 10% for October compared to a year ago. The year-to-date total, however, is up 1% over 1998.

Factory stocks for October 1999 were up 81,505 units from September 1999, and up 123,564 units from October 1998.

Distributor inventories for October 1999 were down 11,577 units from September 1999, and up 9,701 units from October 1998.

October 1999 distributor shipments were up 7% from October 1998, with year-to-date shipments up 6%.