How did the economy fare in 2011? What will it do in 2012? These questions are tricky to answer, but as contractors prepare their business strategies for the coming year, many are looking to numbers and forecasts for direction.
Demand for energy will rise through 2040 as global economic output doubles and prosperity expands across a world where population will grow to nearly 9 billion people, Exxon Mobil Corp. states in The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040.
As the holiday season and New Year approach, The NEWS wishes you good times. Really, we do. So, for the next couple of weeks, please have a few donuts and don’t worry about payroll, paying the bills, paying the piper, or even paying attention. 2012 promises to be a good year in the HVACR industry.
So do you want the good news or the bad news first? Because there was both in the presentation economist Alan Beaulieu gave to the Heating, Airconditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) members at the recent HARDI Conference in Hawaii.
In a survey of more than 1,000 International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo) exhibitors, HVACR manufacturers expressed optimism about the economic outlook for 2012. Nearly three fourths (72 percent) of the total respondents expect a better year (59 percent) or a much better year (13 percent) in 2012.
Owners of small businesses are not as concerned as they had been about their cash flow, many are planning on making a capital investment in the next six months, and those that are doing well in the current economic climate are using social media as a magnet to draw new consumers.
The global market for air conditioning systems staged a recovery in the year 2010 and is now projected to register 144.3 million units in volume sales by 2017.
The heating and cooling trade was not immune to the woes of the recent economic recession. The HVAC trade had to learn to deal with the reality of possible loss of profits from falling revenues, a shift in the market from replacement to repair, and an influx of new business owners bent on lowering prices and lowering credibility of the trade.
Distributors who made it through 2009 can congratulate themselves on surviving one of the most difficult years that HVACR wholesale distribution has endured in a long time. And while business is not back to pre-recession levels, the outlook is definitely improving.
