HVAC distributor sales fall in May, but A2L equipment gains ground

HVAC distributors in May saw revenue fall slightly, with two caveats, according to HARDI data released Wednesday.

What’s happening: HARDI members’ sales, a general proxy for contractor sales, dipped 2.1 percent year-over-year in May, per the data. But the month had one less billing day than May 2024. 

• With the same number of billing days, the company estimates, sales would have been up by over 2.5 percent. (The reports don’t break out residential vs. commercial equipment sales.)
• Meanwhile, cooler weather also weighed on sales, with nationwide cooling degree days, the primary measure of cooling demand, dropping 24 percent compared to last May.

What they’re saying: “After adjusting for the same number of billing days, the rolling three-month average monthly sales growth has been in the 5 to 6 percent range so far this year,” said Brian Loftus, HARDI’s resident economic analyst. 

• “But… inventories have been growing faster than sales,” he added. “Hopefully those boxes begin to melt away now that summer has arrived.”

Zoom out: The release comes one month after HARDI reported that central ducted systems using A2L refrigerants eclipsed 50 percent of its distributors’ sales in April, up from less than five percent in November 2024. 

• By the end of May, that figure had grown to 58 percent, a HARDI representative tells Homepros. 
• Why it matters: “Despite facing price volatility and ongoing shortages of R-454B cylinders, distributors and contractors are adopting the next generation of HVAC systems at a rate no one anticipated,” said HARDI CEO Talbot Gee.

What’s next: Since the reports are two months backward-facing, June’s sales figures will be released in early August.