Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International reported an 11.7 percent sales increase for February. The annualized growth through February was 6.2 percent. This is the highest the annualized pace has been since last September’s 6.3 percent.

“The mild winter weather in February across much of the country appears to have been the catalyst for impressive year-over-year growth in February,” said HARDI Senior Economist Connor Lokar. “Housing Starts in February experienced the strongest month-over-month growth in over two years and we are seeing improvement in other indicators.”

The Days Sales Outstanding, a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills, is now at 47.5.