November Appliance Shipments Slip 3%: AHAM

By Alan Wolf, YSN

Higher demand for cooking and laundry products failed to offset decreases in the home comfort and food preservation categories last month, resulting in a net decline in factory shipments to retailers.

According to the latest vendor tally from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), wholesale sales of major appliances slipped 2.8 percent in November, to approximately 5.8 million units, including imports and domestically made products.

Weighing down the results was a 94 percent decline in AC shipments year-over-year, and a 44 percent drop in freestanding freezers.

Conversely, the cooking category enjoyed a 6.6 percent surge in November, albeit solely on strength in microwave ovens, while laundry shipments rose 4.6 percent as retailers laid in inventory for Black Friday sales events.

The month did little to help an otherwise middling year for appliance demand, with year-to-date shipments falling 5.1 percent through Nov. 23 to some 68.3 million units, compared with a year-ago tally of 72 million pieces.

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