Fourth quarter and overall yearly distributor sales see an
increase. How much?
Columbus,
OHIO - Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International
(HARDI) announced U.S. HVACR average distributor sales for 2012 increased 5.6
percent for the year.
The
annual growth rate of 5.6 percent is the highest since Oct. 2011, signaling
further growth is likely in the coming months.
“Now
that the American Taxpayer Relief Act has been passed, we expect some of the
hesitancy businesses felt will fade as they resume investments in equipment and
repairs,” said Andrew Duguay, Senior Economist, ITR Economics.
Despite
the December decline of 1.8 percent overall fourth quarter performance made improvements.
“The
quarter’s performance was similar to Grainger’s, where average daily U.S. sales
were up 4 percent in October and up 6 percent in November before declining 1
percent in December,” said Brian Loftus, Market Research and Benchmarking
Analyst, HARDI.
HARDI’s
Monthly Targeted and Regional Economic News for Distribution Strategies
(TRENDS) Report tracks seven regions. December closed out a fourth quarter that
exhibited distinct performance differences between the regions.
“The
strongest revenue-per-employee gains of 2012 were experienced in the West,
Southwest, and Central Regions,” said Loftus. While sales per employee
increased slightly in the Northeast over the previous twelve months, it
remained flat in the Mid-Atlantic despite the rebuilding efforts of the past
two months. “The soft sales during the month helped keep the
days-sales-outstanding (DSO) below 50 days for the group overall,” said Loftus.
According
to the Unitary TRENDS Survey, unit sales increased 6.4 percent versus Dec. 2011.
The gains were largely related to growth in ducted sales, while ductless sales
were down from last year. R-22 continues to lose total share of the unit sales
market compared to R-410a.
For
more information, visit www.hardinet.org.
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