Most Major Appliances Shipped Strong in March

The U.S. appliance industry showed healthy increases in March factory unit shipments in most of the appliance categories tracked by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.

Shipments in the AHAM 6 category of appliances (washers, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers, ranges, and ovens) were up 9.3% in March 2010. 4,015,300 units shipped, compared to 3,675,000 units shipped in March 2009. For the year-to-date, 9,054,900 appliances have shipped in the AHAM 6 category, up 5.5% from the 8,573,500 appliances shipped in the same time period in 2009.

Cooking appliances had another strong month in March with the ongoing exception of microwave ovens.
• Electric cooking (ranges, ovens, and cooktops) were up 7.1% in Mar. 2010 (450,800 units shipped) over Mar. 2009 (421,000 units shipped). Electric cooking is up 5.4% year-to-date.
• Gas cooking shipments (ranges, ovens, and cooktops) were up 14.6% in Mar. 2010 (278,900 units) over Mar. 2009 (243,300 units). Gas cooking is up 9.1% year-to-date.
• Microwave oven shipments were down 15.8% in Mar. 2010 (880,500 units) from Mar. 2009 (1,046,100 units). Microwaves are down 12.0% year-to-date.

Home laundry was up overall 2.1% in Mar. 2010 compared to Mar. 2009:
• Mar. 2010 washer shipments were up 2.0% to 882,300 units. Washers are just barely down year-to-date at 0.1%.
• Dryer shipments were up 2.1% in Mar. 2010 compared to Mar. 2009. Dryers are up 3.4% year-to-date.

The Kitchen Clean-Up category had a strong month thanks to big growth in built-in dishwasher shipments. Dishwashers were up 21.5% in Mar. 2010 (640,500 units) compared to Mar. 2009 (527,100 units).
• Built-in dishwasher shipments were up 21.9% in Mar. 2010 (633,200 units) compared to Mar. 2009 (519,500 units).
• Portable dishwashers were down 4.5% in Mar. 2010 to 7,300 units.
• Disposers fell 6.7% in Mar. 2010 (456,300 units shipped) compared to Mar. 2009 (489,100 units shipped). Disposers are down 1.1% year-to-date.
• Trash compactors turned in surprisingly strong growth in March, up 19.5% compared to Mar. 2009. Compactors remain down 9.8% year-to-date.

In the Food Preservation category 1,104,200 units were shipped in Mar. 2010, up 13.9% from 969,600 in Mar. 2009. The category is up 8.8% year-to-date.
• Refrigerators shipped 901,300 in Mar. 2010, up 16.2% from 775,500 in Mar. 2009. Refrigerators are up 12.1% year-to-date.
• Freezer shipments were 4.5% in Mar. 2010 (202,900 units) compared to Mar. 2009 (194,000 units). Freezers are, however, down 4.0% year-to-date.

In AHAM's Home Comfort category:
• Room air-conditioners shipments were down 21.4% in Mar. 2010 (1,069,000 units shipped) compared to Mar. 2009 (1,360,500 units shipped). Room air shipments are down 32.1% year-to-date.
• Dehumidifier shipments – which were down 56.6% in February – eked out 0.4% growth in Mar. 2010 at 255,900 units compared to Mar. 2009's 255,000 units. Dehumidifiers remain down 15.3% year-to-date.