Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) released its monthly TRENDS report, showing average sales for HARDI distributor members increased by 12.2 percent in November 2018. The average annualized growth for the 12 months through November 2018 is 11.1 percent.

“Furnace season is off to a great start,” said HARDI Market Research & Benchmarking Analyst Brian Loftus.  “October was colder than the prior year in every region. That happened again in November when heating degree days exceeded normal in six of our seven economic regions.”

“HARDI sales still looked outstanding entering into the winter months,” said HARDI Economist Paul Hallmann. “Despite recent volatility in equity markets, economic fundamentals remain strong.

“We’ll be keeping a close eye on the actions and remarks of the FED in the coming months, as continued equity market volatility will lead to downside risk on consumer and business confidence, as well as on economic activity in general,” Hallmann continued. “However, November confidence numbers remained strong for both consumers and businesses.”

The Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills, is now over 48 days. “The DSO is up from the summer lows and that is consistent with the normal annual pattern,” said Loftus. “Forty-eight is a little higher than last year, but we expect the ratio to remain in the 47 to 49 range the next couple months.”

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.