Factory shipments of major appliances declined 2.4 percent in July, continuing what has been a choppy pattern for wholesale sales of white goods this year.
By Alan Wolf
According to the latest vendor tabulations from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), the industry trade group, total shipments decreased to 5.8 million units, from the 5.9 million units shipped a year ago.
But the reduction represents something of a recovery from June, when total shipments, including imports into the U.S., fell 9.1 percent.
Leading the drop-off in July were portable dishwashers, shipments of which declined nearly 39 percent. Also taking it on the chin were upright freezers, which saw unit shipments fall more than 22 percent year over year.
Less dramatic was the 1.5 percent decrease in cooking category shipments, as a slight uptick in gas range demand helped offset steeper declines in electric cooktops.
But not all numbers were negative. Buoyed by a better than 12 percent increase in gas dryers, which offset a 1.5 percent dip in washer shipments, the home laundry category rose 1.6 percent in July.
Among other core product categories, full-size refrigerators were off by 1.7 percent.
Total shipments year-to-date through July 27 were down 5.4 percent, reflecting an unsteady 2019 that began with flat demand in January, a 16 percent downturn in April and a 3 percent increase in May.
YSN is published by BrandSource parent company AVB Inc.
