HVACR distributors that are members of Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) saw sales increase 4.6% month-over-month during February, rebounding from January’s 5.9% slide.
That’s according to HARDI’s monthly TRENDS report, issued April 1.
On a trailing 12-month basis, annual sales growth through February was +2.4% — an uptick from the +2.3% through January.
“4.6% sales growth was a welcome sight after low single-digit sales declines during December and January,” said Brian Loftus, Macroeconomic and Residential Market Analyst at HARDI. “January and February have not been good indicators of the year ahead because they are low-volume, seasonally insignificant months of the year.”
The monthly HARDI members sales survey also calculates distributor’s Days Sales Outstanding, which is a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills. HARDI said the DSO for February was near 38 days — in line with a year ago and an improvement from January’s 39.4 days.
“Distributors had to accumulate extra inventory to accommodate the A2L transition. That was evident last spring when the sales-to-inventory ratio dipped below four-times,” Loftus added. “It is tough to work-off inventory in these low-volume months, but baseball season has started, so cooling season is almost here. The warmer temps will help trim the remaining excess inventory.”
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.
