Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International reported 14.4 percent sales growth for March. The annualized growth through March is 5.9 percent, the third consecutive month with annual growth less than 6 percent.

“The results suggest that the strength of the U.S. consumer, as evidenced in accelerating U.S. Retail Sales growth, is benefitting HARDI Members,” said HARDI Senior Economist Danielle Marceau. “The quickening rate of rise in Retail Sales at Building Material & Supply Stores (up 5.3 percent) is indicating that consumers are spending more on improving their homes and internal trends suggest additional growth is likely through the remainder of 2015.”

The Days Sales Outstanding, a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills, has begun its normal seasonal ascent, and is now more than 50 days.