Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) announced U.S. HVACR average distributor sales for April 2012 were up 8.3 percent.
Upon occasion, I have been wrong about things, and when that occurs, I am quick to point out what that really means: I thought I was wrong about something but actually turned out to be right.
The Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) arrived at the Disney Resorts in Orlando recently for some networking, education, and fun. The high-energy, four-day convention began with a look back at the last 12 months for the MCAA and all it has accomplished.
Many commercial HVAC equipment manufacturers are expecting to see modest growth this year, although the data so far are not encouraging. The good news is that many economists expect the U.S. economy to continue to expand moderately in the months ahead, and that should result in modest gains in construction spending.
At the 2012 Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) annual conference, attendees had the opportunity to hear top executives from five major industry manufacturers discuss some of the hottest topics in HVAC. Some of the topics included regional standards, dry-charged unit sales, the R-22 price spike, and more.
America’s economy will continue its recovery this year and next as it adds nearly 5 million jobs and unemployment falls below 8 percent, according to University of Michigan economists.
Heating, Airconditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) announced North American HVACR average distributor sales were up 6.2 percent in January 2012.
While spring officially starts tomorrow, several HVAC contractors are still waiting for winter to arrive. The national average temperature across the 48 contiguous states in January was 36.3 — 5.5 degrees above the 1901-2000 average, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center.
Mixed signals make it difficult to determine what to expect over the next year, although most manufacturers echo Gary Clark, senior vice president of marketing, Goodman Global Group Inc., who stated, “Overall, we see 2012 being very similar to 2011.”
The economy has been tough for many HVAC contractors over the last few years, and the signals are mixed as to whether things will get better in 2012. On the positive side, construction employment rose in 28 states and the District of Columbia between December 2010 and December 2011. On the other hand, only 302,000 new homes were sold in 2011, which is 6.2 percent below the 2010 figure.
