Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) released its monthly TRENDS report, showing sales by HARDI distributors increased by 4.6% during February 2026.

The annual sales growth for the 12 months through February 2026 is an increase of 2.4%.

“4.6% sales growth was a welcome sight after low single digit sales declines during December and January,” said Brian Loftus, macroeconomic and residential market analyst at HARDI. “January and February have not been good indicators of the year ahead because they are low volume, seasonally insignificant months of the year.”

The monthly sales survey also calculates distributor’s Days Sales Outstanding which is a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills. The DSO for February was near 38 days like last February.

“The modest annual sales growth may be a concern, but customer’s paying their bills without delay indicate the market challenges are contained,” Loftus said.

Distributors had to accumulate extra inventory to accommodate the A2L transition, he added.

"That was evident last spring when the sales-to-inventory ratio dipped below four-times,” Loftus said. “It is tough to work-off inventory in these low volume months, but baseball season has started, so cooling season is almost here. The warmer temps will help trim the remaining excess inventory.”

HARDI members do not receive financial compensation in exchange for their monthly sales data and can discontinue their participation without prior notice or penalty. Participation is voluntary, and the depth of market coverage varies from region to region. An independent entity collects and compiles the data that can include products not directly associated with the HVACR industry.