As the COVID-19 pandemic surges through spring, HVAC manufacturing joins much of global industry in rolling back expectations for the remainder of 2020. Compared to a month ago, two areas of concern among manufacturers have noticeably dropped, according to a survey of manufacturers conducted April 16-20 by Clear Seas Research, the research arm of BNP Media (parent company to The ACHR NEWS). One of those decreased concerns is over friends, family, or employees becoming infected by COVID-19. The other is supply chain interruptions; 54 percent of manufacturers surveyed noted concerns in this regard, and while that’s still more than half, it’s down from 60 percent the first week of April.
“You get a little bit more wiggle room on this when the markets are declining, so even if we have some issues around production, we're able to absorb it in a natural way,” Todd Bluedorn, chairman and CEO of Lennox. “Even if we had 100 percent production capability, we would have to bring down our factories in any case to help manage the inventory levels.”