ARLINGTON, Va. - Combined U.S. factory shipments of 678,833 central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps for April were down 11 percent compared to shipments from the same month last year, according to Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) statistics. Total shipments of 2,346,353 for the first four months of the year are even with those of last year.

Heat pump shipments in April of 168,804 dropped 3 percent compared to April 2004. The year-to-date total of 611,219 is up 3 percent from January-April 2004.

April distributor shipments were down 10 percent from April 2004, with year-to-date shipments up 2 percent.

Publication date: 05/30/2005