ARLINGTON, VA — Combined U.S. factory shipments of 358,596 central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps in October were up 12 percent from October 2001, according to statistics provided by the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI).

Heat pump shipments of 88,191 units were down 6 percent from October 2001. Combined shipments for the first ten months of 2002 are up 7 percent from those of last year.

October 2002 factory stocks were up 73,477 units from September 2002 and up 18,973 units from October 2001. Distributor inventories for October 2002 were down 81,122 units when compared to September 2002 and down 234,822 units from October 2001.