The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), Arlington, Va., has released its March heating and cooling equipment shipment data.

Central Air-Conditioners and Air-Source Heat Pumps
Combined U.S. factory shipments of central air-conditioners and air-source heat pumps for March totaled 465,454, down 22 percent, compared with the same month a year ago. For the year-to-date, combined shipments totaled 955,317, down 24 percent compared with the same period last year.

Heat pump shipments for March totaled 159,983, down 16 percent from the same month a year ago. For the year-to-date, heat pump shipments totaled 355,603, a 20 percent drop compared with the same period last year. See charts of combined shipments by month and by cooling capacity.

Warm Air Furnaces
U.S. factory shipments of gas-fired, warm-air furnaces in March totaled 160,339, a 20 percent drop compared with the same month a year ago. See chart. For the year-to-date, gas furnace shipments totaled 418,338, a 20.8 percent drop compared with the same period last year.

Oil-fired, warm-air furnaces for the same month totaled 3,337, a 20.3 percent drop compared with March 2008 totals. Oil furnace shipments for the year-to-date totaled 10,147, a 26 percent drop compared with the same period last year.

Storage Water Heaters
Residential electric water heater shipments for March totaled 331,751, a 12.7 percent drop from the same month a year ago. Residential gas water heater shipments totaled 347,852, a 9.8 percent decrease compared with shipments for the same month last year. For the year-to-date, about 991,304 residential gas water heaters have been shipped, a 6.1 percent drop compared with the same period a year ago. For the year-to-date, about 965,983 residential electric storage water heaters have been shipped, a 10.6 percent drop compared to the same period last year. See chart.

Commercial gas water heater shipments for March totaled 8,119, dropping 6.2 percent compared with the same month last year, while commercial electric water heater shipments totaled 5,909, a 12.2 percent drop compared with the same month a year ago. For the year-to-date, commercial electric water heater shipments (15,200) are 12.2 percent behind total shipments of this product during the same period last year (17,313). Commercial gas water heater shipments (21,349) for the year-to-date are down 9.3 percent, compared with the same period a year ago (23,548).