AHRI reported that U.S. factory shipments of gas-fired, warm-air furnaces in October 2009 totaled 236,599, an 8.6 percent increase compared with the same month a year earlier.

The Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute also found that oil-fired, warm-air furnaces shipped in October totaled 7,163, an 8.2 percent increase compared with October 2008 totals.

For the year to date, gas furnace shipments totaled more than 1.7 million, a 10.1 percent drop compared with the same period last year. Oil furnace shipments for the year totaled 40,867, an 8.5 percent drop compared with the same period last year.

Residential gas water heater shipments totaled 310,857, a 7.9 percent increase compared with shipments for the same month last year. Residential electric water heater shipments for October totaled 311,198, a 6.4 percent drop from the same month a year ago. For the year so far, over 3 million residential gas and 3.1 million electric storage water heaters have been shipped, an 8.8 and 12.8 percent drop, respectively, compared with the same period a year ago.

Commercial gas water heater shipments for October totaled 6,017, down 0.9 percent compared with the same month last year, while commercial electric water heater shipments totaled 4,543, a 15.5 percent drop compared with the same month a year ago.

For the year to date, commercial gas heater shipments totaled 63,517, down 17.7 percent from the same period last year. Year-to-date commercial electric water heater shipments totaled 47,708, down 19.9 percent compared with the same period a year ago.

Combined U.S. factory shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps for October totaled 292,278, down 10.3 percent compared with the same month a year ago. For the year to date, combined shipments totaled 4.5 million, a 15.5 percent drop compared with the same period last year.

Heat pump shipments for October totaled 98,388, down 20.1 percent from the same month a year ago. For the year, heat pump shipments totaled 1.4 million, a 14.5 percent drop compared with the same period last year.