Steel Markets
Heating and Cooling Equipment Shipments Near Record Levels in March
Written by Brett Linton
May 18, 2021
March heating and cooling equipment shipments jumped 33.1% over February, now at 2.24 million units, according to recent data from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).
This is the third highest level in SMU’s history, just behind the June 2020 high of 2.28 million units and the June 2018 high of 2.27 million units. March levels are up 15.6% from one year prior, and this is the 10th consecutive month that shipments have increased on a year-over-year basis.
As a three-month moving average (3MMA), total heating and cooling shipments rose 15.0% year over year, as shown in the chart below. This is now the ninth consecutive month that 3MMA shipments have increased on a year-over-year basis. Note that the last four months of 2020 saw the largest 3MMA annual rates of change in SMU’s limited history, reaching a record +26.3% in November. Prior to 2020, the previous record 3MMA annual rate of change was 16.6% in March 2015.
Residential and commercial storage water heater shipments increased 11.9% year over year to a combined 939,884 units in March; 915,993 units were shipped for residential use and 23,891 units for commercial use.
March shipments of warm air furnaces totaled 376,207 units, an increase of 52.2% compared to the same month last year.
Central air conditioners and air-source heat pump shipments were up 8.6% over levels one year ago to 925,031 total units; 576,646 air conditioners and 348,385 heat pumps were shipped in March.
The full press release is available on the AHRI website here.
Below is a graph showing the history of total water heater, warm air furnace and air conditioner shipments. To use its interactive features, view the graph on our website by clicking here. For assistance with either logging in or navigating the website, contact Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
By Brett Linton, Brett@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonLatest in Steel Markets
GrafTech’s Q2 loss widens in ‘challenging’ business environment
GrafTech cited a “challenging” part of the business cycle as its net loss widened in the second quarter.
CRU: Poor steel margins continue to push down raw material prices
Both iron ore and coking coal prices fell this week because of resistance from buyers. Iron ore prices have continued to fall throughout the past week, following sharp declines in steel prices in China, given no new policy announcement from the ‘Third Plenum’ meeting.
Op-Ed: The myth of the Mexican steel surge
We have heard ominous warnings about a flood of Mexican steel threatening the US market. It's the kind of rhetoric that gets thrown around often with little regard for the facts. The reality is that the Mexican steel surge is simply not happening, and the US steel industry has consistently maintained a significant trade surplus in finished products with Mexico. In 2023 alone, this surplus exceeded $3 billion.
CRU: Demand weakness continues to weigh on global sheet markets
Demand has remained persistently weak across the globe for sheet steel, weighing on prices. US HR coil prices fell the furthest this week as high-volume, low-priced deals were transacted as mills looked to fill order books and competed with one another amid relative demand weakness. Meanwhile, European prices were also down due to low demand […]
Influx of coated products fuels recent import surge
Steel imports fell back in May from April’s recent high but remained elevated compared to the levels seen over the past year. A deeper dive into the data confirms what SMU has been hearing from sources: Coated sheet is driving the recent rise in overall import levels.