US shipments and sales increase in March
9th May 2026
USA: Manufacturers’ shipments and distributor sales of HVAC equipment in the USA showed increases in March, according to latest industry figures.
Figures from the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) show US shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps totalled 856,674 units in March, an increase of 4.6% compared to March 2025.
While US shipments of air conditioners increased just 0.1% to 436,757 units, compared to March 2025, shipments of air-source heat pumps increased 9.8% to 419,917 units.
The year-to-date shipments of 960,570 heat pump units have seen a small increase of 0.9%, compared to the same period in 2025. However, year-to-date shipments of central air conditioners are down 13.4% to 975,764 units.
The AHRI figures are based on returns from its 300+ company members, which account for more than 90% of the equipment manufactured and sold in North America.
Meanwhile, HARDI, representing US heating, air conditioning and refrigeration distributors, reported a 10.4% revenue increase in March. This contributed to an annual sales growth of 3.3% for the 12 months to the end of March.
HARDI, which represents more than 570 distributor members within the North American and Latin American HVACR markets, did temper the figures by pointing out that March 2026 had one more billing day than March 2025. As a result, HARDI estimates that the sales growth was closer to 5.4% with the same number of billing days.
