Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) released its monthly TRENDS report, showing the average sales performance by HARDI distributors was an increase of 7.4% percent during December 2019.

The average annual sales growth for the 12 months through December 2019 is 5.3 percent.

“Sales growth for the month was helped by an extra billing day and it needed it because heating degree days were well below normal in five of our seven regions,” said HARDI Market Research & Benchmarking Analyst Brian Loftus. “The dollar weighted annual growth was also near 5%, so that looks like a fair assessment of the year versus the unusually strong 2018.”

The Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills, is near 50 days. “The DSO was a bit higher than the recent Decembers,” said Loftus.  “This is the second consecutive month that the DSO has been about a day or more higher than the prior year.”

“The economy has been growing in the 2% area.  The consensus expectation even before the coronavirus disruption, was for some modest easing of that pace in the new year,” said Loftus.  The latest HARDInomics quarterly indicates only a few states are experiencing a noticeably slower pace.  The lack of excesses in the economy despite the duration of the expansion supports the soft-landing consensus expectation.

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 that can include products not directly associated with the HVACR industry.

About HARDI

HARDI (Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International) is the single voice of wholesale distribution within the HVACR industry.

HARDI members market, distribute, and support heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration equipment, parts and supplies. HARDI Distributor members serve installation and service/replacement contractors in residential and commercial markets, as well as commercial/industrial and institutional maintenance staffs. HARDI proudly represents more than 480 distributor members representing more than 5,000 branch locations, and close to 500 suppliers, manufacturer representatives and service vendors.