Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International reported an 11 percent sales increase in October. The average annualized growth for the 12 months through October was 6.6 percent.

“The 11 percent gain this month versus October 2016 was helped by one extra billing day and an easy prior year comparison,” said HARDI market research & benchmarking analyst Brian Loftus.  “We had a slow start to heating season with mild conditions in the Northeast and Great lakes regions.”

The Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills, is now approaching 46 days.

“The DSO is increasing over the past couple of months but that is consistent with the normal seasonal pattern,” said Loftus. “It is up a little from last year, but comparable to October 2014 and 2015.”