Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) monthly TRENDS report, showed average sales for distributor increased by 0.2 percent in September 2017.

The average annualized growth for the 12 months through September 2017 was 5.6 percent.

“September 2017 had one less billing day than 2016, 21 percent fewer cooling degree days, and two hurricanes disrupting operations,” said HARDI Market Research and Benchmarking Analyst Brian Loftus. “The heat wave out west led to very strong sales growth that influenced the average calculation. The median distributor’s sales declined by 1.6 percent.”

“It looks like weather was the major factor behind HARDI distributor sales in August and September because the underlying economy remains strong,” said HARDI Senior Economist Connor Lokar. “The US labor market is generally tightening. September’s 4.1 percent unemployment is the lowest level since before the Great Recession. The number of hours worked is rising after contracting through most of 2016. The increase signals an increase in demand for labor and the number of job openings is generally rising.”

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.

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