• Skip to main content

    Analysis

    US Heating and Cooling Equipment Shipments Jump 24% in March

    Written by Brett Linton


    US heating and cooling equipment shipments jumped 24% from February to March to 2.28 million units, up 2% from levels one year prior, according to recent data from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). This is the third highest monthly shipment rate in our history, with June 2021 holding the record at 2.32 million units and June 2020 holding the second highest rate at 2.28 million units.

    On a twelve-month moving average (12MMA) basis, shipments averaged 2.04 million tons per month over the past year, again climbing to the highest 12MMA in our recorded history. Shipments averaged 2.03 million units per month in 2021, up 9.8% compared to 1.85 million units per month shipped in the same period of 2020.

    Brett Linton

    Read more from Brett Linton

    Latest in Analysis

    SMU Survey: Current Buyers’ Sentiment rises slightly as Future Sentiment dips

    SMU’s Current Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Index ticked up slightly this week, while Future Sentiment fell, according to our latest market survey. Every two weeks, SMU polls thousands of steel-industry executives, asking them to rate their companies’ chances of success today and also three to six months down the road. We use their responses to calculate our proprietary Current and Future Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices, measures tracked since 2008.

    galvalume steel coil

    SMU Survey: Mill willingness to negotiate price at lowest levels since 2021

    The majority of steel buyers responding to our latest market survey reported that mills continue to hold a firm grip on prices. The share of buyers reporting that mills were negotiable fell this week to the lowest rate seen in over five years. Every two weeks, SMU surveys service center and manufacturer buyers asking if mills are negotiable on new spot sheet and plate orders. In this week’s survey, just 3% of respondents said mills were willing to talk price to secure an order (Figure 1). This is down 11 percentage points from our mid-October survey.