Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI), Columbus, Ohio, released its monthly TRENDS report on Thursday, which showed the average sales performance by HARDI distributors  was an increase of 33.5% percent during May.

The average annual sales growth for the 12 months through May is 17.6%.

“The 33.5% gain reflects stimulus driven demand being compared against a sales decline of -10.2% after the May 2020 COVID interruptions,” said HARDI Market Research & Benchmarking Analyst Brian Loftus.  “The sales growth is nearly 20% versus May 2019 and about 11% if we adjust that for inflation. This is the end of the unusually weak shutdown related sales comps.”

The Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), which is a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills, was 40 days at the end of May.

“The DSO has been faster than normal since June 2020 due to the aggressive policies to support the economy during the COVID related disruptions,” said Loftus. “The normal rate of DSO for May is 46 to 47 days.”

The 17.6% average annual sales growth for the 12 months through May was a record for HARDI distributors.

“This unusually large gain is primarily due to being compared to the unusually low level of sales during the prior year when lockdowns interfered with sales activities,” said Loftus. “The economy continues to benefit from the stimulus dollars dispersed to vaccinate us against an extended recession, but this is likely the peak annual sales rate.”