Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) recently announced that while HVACR average distributor sales declined 1.8 percent in December 2012, they increased 5.6 percent for the year. This is the highest reported sales level since October 2011, signaling further growth may be more likely in the coming months.
“Now that the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) has been passed, we expect some of the hesitancy businesses felt to fade as they resume investments in equipment and repairs,” said Andrew Duguay, senior economist, ITR Economics, which provides economic forecasts for HARDI. “The down side of the ATRA is a 2 percent tax increase on average for consumers in 2013. It will take a couple of months to see what sort of impact that has on the confidence of consumers and the momentum of market participants, as the important spring selling season approaches.”