October was a good month for Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International members.

Average sales among U.S. distributor members increased 11.6 percent. Six of the group’s seven regions showed increases after a 4.7 percent decline in September.

For the previous 12 months, sales are up 3.9 percent, HARDI officials said. HARDI economist Andrew Duguay said that the growth rate is the highest in three months. 

“This reflects the positive consumer trends, rebounding residential construction market and general economic growth,” Duguay said. “The growth rate continues to be constrained by the mild business-to-business spending and ongoing challenges in commercial construction markets.”

According to HARDI analyst Brian Loftus, next month’s numbers will likely be impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

“We are encouraged by the positive tone of the economic indicators in general, so expect the negative impact of Sandy to be brief,” Loftus said.