Refrigeration Equipment and Supplies

According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2009, there were 3,177 establishments involved in the industry of wholesale refrigeration equipment and supplies in the late 2000s. There were approximately 20,859 employees in the industry, which posted sales of nearly $4 billion. The average revenue per establishment was $1.6 million. The majority of the establishments in this industry were small, employing fewer than five people. California, New York, and Texas had the largest value of shipments. Refrigeration equipment and supplies dominated the market, with 40 percent of industry sales.

In 2005, the industry experienced an acute shortage of R-134a, a key refrigerant for production. The shortage was due to increased demand in a variety of uses, including commercial refrigeration, home and auto air conditioners, and insulating agents, as well as the phase-out of CFCs in 113 countries worldwide. The price of R-134a tripled as a result.

In September 1995, the EPA enacted its Clean Air Act Amendment, tightening leak repair requirements for owners and operators. Still, as the economy improved and interest rates went down, refrigeration equipment and supplies sales rose during the mid-1990s.

In 1999, the Environmental Protection Agency flexed its muscle by enforcing its 1992 Refrigerants Recycling regulations. First, the EPA fined New York City $50 million for venting refrigerants into the atmosphere by not removing them before crushing refrigerators and air conditioners for disposal. The EPA also enforced its anti-leakage regulations by fining GTE in California $85,000 for insufficient repair work on its refrigeration system. The agency simultaneously proposed lower allowable leakage rates, dropping the acceptable level from 35 percent to as low as 5 percent, depending on the type of system.

A poor economy during the early 1990s lowered refrigeration equipment sales. Large refrigeration equipment buyers, such as supermarkets, had trouble obtaining credit, and slim profit margins affected industry expansion. Mobile vehicle refrigeration systems sales fell from 60,070 units in 1989 to 50,800 in 1990. Sales of drinking water coolers also dropped from 984,061 units in 1989 to 886,175 in 1990.

Sales of ice-making machines rose from 195,959 units in 1989 to 200,818 in 1990, but stayed below the 243,771 units sold in 1988. Among other factors, lower sales were blamed on slow growth in the fast food restaurant industry. According to one account, about 70 percent of ice machine shipments during the early 1990s were replacements rather than new purchases. In addition to the fast food industry, which uses ice machines for soft drinks, other ice machine buyers include hospital emergency rooms, food processors, and pre-cast concrete pourers.

According to the Air Conditioning and Refrigerating Institute, manufacturers shipped a record number of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps with a total of more than 10 million units shipped in 2008, up 15 percent from 2006.