Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) released its monthly TRENDS report, showing the average sales performance by HARDI distributors was an increase of 9.3 percent during July 2021. The average annual sales growth for the 12 months through July 2021 is 17.2 percent.

“9.3 percent growth looks modest after the extraordinary recent gains of 20 to 30 percent," said HARDI Market Research and Benchmarking Analyst Brian Loftus. "With the same number of billing days, we estimate the sales growth for the month would have been more than 14 percent, or almost twice the median monthly sales gain during the past ten years."

The Days Sales Outstanding, a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills, was 40 days at the end of July 2021. “Bills were paid about four days quicker than July’s before the COVID related business interruptions,” Loftus said.

The annual sales growth of 17.2 percent through July is flat with June, and off only slightly from the 17.6 percent record rate through May of 2021. 

“Along with the healthy economic recovery, the sales growth is getting an extra boost this year from the frequent price increases that distributors have had to pass through. The Producer Price Index for the industry has increased by 9 percent during the twelve months through July and there is another round of price increases to for the market to digest during August and September,” Loftus 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.