Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) has released its monthly TRENDS report showing the average sales performance by HARDI distributors was an increase of 21.1 percent during February 2021. The average annual sales growth for the 12 months through February 2021 is 6.1 percent.

"February 2021 was helped by a very easy comparison," said HARDI Market Research and Benchmarking Analyst Brian Loftus. "Demand was soft during February 2020 when heating degree days were at or below normal in six of our seven economic regions, and then strong this year when heating degree days were above normal in six of the regions during February 2021."

The Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills, is 43.4 days. “DSO has been faster than normal since June 2020 and that persists,” Loftus said. “The DSO is seasonal, swinging from the low 40s to near 50 where usually resides during February.”

Loftus said the unusually cold and challenging conditions during February caused a noticeable hiccup in many economic data streams, but not its TRENDS report. “The February sales growth rate was helped by the easy comparison, price increases being passed through, back-ordered product availability, and the rising economic tide we see with job gains of 233K in January and 468K in February.  It’s a good bet that annual growth rate number is heading higher,” he said.

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.