COLUMBUS, Ohio — Sales by HVACR distributors participating in the Heating, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) TRENDS report declined by 4.1% during April 2023, according to HARDI.

Sales growth for the previous 12 months through April was 12%, HARDI reported.

“This looks like a soft start to the first month of cooling season, but that is a bit misleading,” said Brian Loftus, HARDI’s macroeconomic and residential market analyst, in a press release. “Besides being compared to a very busy prior year, April 2023 had one less billing day than last year. We estimate sales for the month would have increased by nearly 1% with the same number of billing days.”

The Days Sales Outstanding, a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills, was at 40 days in April. “The DSO this month is similar to the other post-COVID Aprils, and much faster than pre-COVID pace,” said Loftus. “We have been expecting the DSO to increase towards the pre-COVID levels but that is not happening yet.”

Loftus continued: “A combination of difficult prior-year comparisons, shrinking annual price increases, and weaker demand have been pulling the annual growth rate back towards more normal pre-COVID rates, and it looks like that will continue,” he said. “Four of our regions are reporting sales growth in the 8% to 9.5% area, and the pace is clearly slowing for all seven regions. This annual rate will be in single-digit territory this summer.”

HARDI members do not receive financial compensation in exchange for their monthly sales data and can discontinue their participation without prior notice or penalty. Participation is voluntary, and the depth of market coverage varies from region to region.

An independent entity collects and compiles the data, which can include the sales of products not directly associated with the HVACR industry.