Factory shipments of 413,699 central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps reported for October.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Combined U.S. factory shipments of 413,699 central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps in October were up 9 percent from October 2003, according to statistics from the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute.

Heat pump shipments of 129,512 were up 17 percent compared to October 2003. Total shipments of 6,619,867 units are up 9 percent for the first 10 months of 2004.

ARI also reported that factory stocks for October 2004 were down 7,581 units from September 2004, but up 74,297 units from October 2003. Distributor inventories for the month were down 373 units compared to September 2004 and up 146,988 units from October 2003. October 2004 distributor shipments were down 11 percent from October 2003 with year-to-date shipments up 5 percent.