ARLINGTON, Va. - Combined U.S. factory shipments of 557,509 central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps in August were down 10 percent from August 2003, according to Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) statistics. Total shipments of 5,632,767 units for the first eight months of 2004 are up 9 percent compared to the same period of 2003.

Heat pump shipments for August of 144,364 were up 2 percent compared to August 2003. The year-to-date total of 1,361,022 is up 17 percent from January-August 2003.

August distributor shipments were down 1 percent from August 2003, with year-to-date shipments up 6 percent.