U.S. manufacturers shipped 679,378 central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps in August 2025, marking a 30.4% decrease compared to 975,841 units shipped in August 2024, according to new data from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).
Shipments of central air conditioners declined 37.5% year-on-year to 356,930 units, while air-source heat pump shipments dropped 20.3% to 322,448 units.
Year-to-date through August, combined shipments of air conditioners and heat pumps totaled 6,019,962 units, down 10.6% from 6,735,792 units during the same period in 2024. Central air conditioner shipments fell 16.3% to 3,268,714 units, and air-source heat pump shipments declined 2.9% to 2,751,248 units.
In terms of cooling capacity, shipments in August saw the largest decreases in the 16.5–21.9 thousand BTUH and 27–32.9 thousand BTUH ranges, down 45.1% and 41.2%, respectively, compared to August 2024. A slight increase was recorded in the smallest (under 16.5 thousand BTUH) and select large-capacity categories such as 800.0–899.9 and 900.0–999.9 thousand BTUH, which rose by 8.0% and 16.5%, respectively.
Cumulatively for 2025, the biggest year-on-year shipment declines were in the 16.5–21.9 thousand BTUH range (–33.6%) and 250–319.9 thousand BTUH range (–25.5%). A year-to-date increase was reported in units under 16.5 thousand BTUH (+11.5%) and 900.0–999.9 thousand BTUH (+7.5%).
The AHRI data reflects shipments from U.S. manufacturers and includes both domestic and export volumes.