U.S. manufacturers shipped 528,980 central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps in September 2025, marking a 41.5% decrease compared to 903,856 units in September 2024, according to newly released industry data.
Shipments of air conditioners fell by 49.4% year-on-year, totaling 263,291 units in September 2025 compared to 520,197 units a year earlier. Air-source heat pump shipments declined by 30.7% to 265,689 units, down from 383,659 in the same month of 2024.
Year-to-date figures show a 14.3% decline in combined shipments of air conditioners and heat pumps, with 6,548,942 units shipped through September 2025 compared to 7,639,648 units during the same period in 2024. Air conditioner shipments for the first nine months of 2025 totaled 3,532,005 units, a 20.2% drop from 4,423,927 in 2024. Heat pump shipments declined by 6.2% to 3,016,937 units.
The monthly data by capacity category (in 1,000 BTUH) showed sharp declines in shipments across most ranges. Units in the 16.5–21.9 category saw a 57.6% drop, while the 22–26.9 range decreased by 47.0%. Larger capacity units such as those in the 185–249.9 and 135–184.9 ranges recorded shipment increases of 26.1% and 4.9% respectively.
Year-to-date figures by capacity also reflected a general downturn. The 16.5–21.9 category dropped by 36.8% to 571,936 units, while the 22–26.9 and 27–32.9 ranges fell by 19.5% and 19.4% respectively. Only a few categories, such as 900.0–999.9 BTUH, saw increases—rising 7.7% to 683 units.