1-percent increase from 2002's total of 6,746,326 units. Heat pump shipments also hit a record in 2003 with 1,626,365 units shipped, a 10-percent jump from 2002's record of 1,483,599 units.
So what did 2004 bring? Final statistics for the year are not yet in, but early numbers seemed to indicate that another record year is a possibility.