COLUMBUS, Ohio – Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International released their monthly TRENDS Report. The average sales growth for reporting HVACR distributor members increased by 15 percent in September. The annualized growth through September is now 6.9 percent and at the upper end of the 6 to 7 percent range for 2014.

“The 15 percent growth in September is the strongest monthly performance this year,” said HARDI Market Research and Benchmarking Analyst Brian Loftus.

“This is only the eighth time in the past five years when the average monthly sales growth has been 15 percent or higher. Six of the seven reporting regions experienced double digit growth. The performance is even more impressive when you see it is being compared to strong results in September of 2013,” Loftus said.

HARDI Senior Economist Danielle Marceau added, “A positive contributor to the September results was the strong third quarter performance of GDP. Output increased 0.88 percent from the second quarter. This was the second strongest second-to-third quarter increase in the last decade.”

The positive business cycle bounce is reflected in strong housing starts that contributed to the vigorous sales results this month.

The Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) — a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills — declined to the normal annual seasonal low of 45 days. The recent seasonal pattern indicates a gradual increase is likely to the low 50s by early next spring.

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