U.S. factory shipments of residential cooling and heating equipment declined in September, compared with the same month a year ago, while the commercial market for these products maintained steady growth, according to the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).

Central Air Conditioners and Air-Source Heat Pumps

Combined U.S. factory shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps for September totaled 420,726, a 20 percent drop compared with September 2007 total shipments. For the year-to-date, combined shipments totaled 5,037,412, a 5 percent drop compared with the same period last year.
Heat pump shipments for September totaled 137,298, a 12 percent drop from the same month a year ago. For the year-to-date, heat pump shipments totaled 1,550,137, a 0.4 percent drop compared with the same period last year.

Warm Air Furnaces

U.S. factory shipments of gas warm air furnaces dropped 17.5 percent to 249,550 compared with the September 2007 totals. Oil warm air furnaces for the same month fell 33 percent to 7,819, compared with September 2007 shipments of this equipment.
For the year-to-date, gas furnace shipments totaled 1,682,405, a 17.4 percent drop compared with the same period last year. Oil furnace shipments for the year-to-date totaled 40,903, a 27.6 percent drop compared with the same period last year.

Storage Water Heaters

Residential electric water heater shipments for September totaled 332,970, an 8.8 percent drop from the same month a year ago. Residential gas water heater shipments totaled 297,747, a 20.8 decrease compared with shipments for the same month last year. For the year-to-date, about 3 million residential gas water heaters have been shipped, a 5.5 percent drop compared with the same period a year ago.
For the year-to-date, about 3.2 million residential electric storage water heaters have been shipped, a 2.3 percent drop compared to the same period last year.
Commercial gas water heater shipments for September totaled 6,801, jumping 2.1 percent compared with the same month last year, while commercial electric water heater shipments totaled 5,164, a 6.8 percent drop compared with the same month a year ago.

Boilers

For the third quarter ending September 30, 2008, 3,403 steel boilers were shipped, a 17.8 percent drop compared to the same quarter last year. For the year to date, 6,963 boilers were shipped, a 16.4 percent drop compared to the same period last year. Cast iron boilers experienced a jump in the third quarter with 82,714 units shipped, a 5.3 increase compared to the same quarter last year. For the year to date, 185,369 cast iron boilers were shipped, a 6.7 drop compared to the same period last year.