Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) released its monthly TRENDS report, showing average sales for HARDI distributor members increased by 3.6 percent in December 2018. The average annualized growth for the 12 months through December 2018 is 11.4 percent.

“Furnace season is off to a great start with sales growth of 21.7 percent in October and then 12.2 percent in November,” said HARDI Market Research and Benchmarking Analyst Brian Loftus. “The modest growth this month was enough to push the annual growth rate to a new peak rate of 11.4 percent.”

"December marked a strong finish to a historically strong year for HARDI members," said HARDI Economist Paul Hallmann. "While economic headwinds should create some softness in 2019, strength in the labor market and a cautious FED are encouraging."

The Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills, is now 46 days. “The DSO looked a little high last month after the busy start to the heating season,” said Loftus. “We are now back to the median point of the past few December reports.”

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.