ARLINGTON, Va. - Combined U.S. factory shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps hit a record in June with 1,089,872 units shipped, up 1 percent compared to shipments from the same month last year, according to Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) statistics. Total shipments of 4,170,567 for the first six months of the year are down 4 percent from 2004.

Heat pump shipments for June also hit a record with 240,248 units shipped, a 2 percent increase from the same month last year. The year-to-date total of 1,021,168 is down 1 percent from January-June 2004.

June distributor shipments were up 11 percent from June 2004, with year-to-date shipments even with last year.