Water heater shipments fell again in April, according to new data from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, extending a decline that has now persisted for most of the past year. AHRI's April 2026 statistical release, issued June 12, shows softening demand across both residential gas and electric storage water heaters even as commercial water heater shipments moved in different directions depending on fuel type.
Residential Water Heater Shipments Continue To Soften
U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters totaled 361,801 units in April, down 1.6% from 367,604 units a year earlier, AHRI reported. Residential electric storage water heater shipments fell further, dropping 4.3% to 430,591 units in April compared with 450,168 units in April 2025. On a year-to-date basis through April, residential gas water heater shipments were down 6.2%, to roughly 1.4 million units, while residential electric water heater shipments declined 6.4%, to about 1.65 million units, compared with the same four-month period in 2025.
The residential figures mark a continuation of a trend that has held for much of the past year, as elevated interest rates, slower housing turnover and delayed remodeling projects weigh on a product category that is otherwise driven mainly by equipment failures rather than discretionary purchases. Because most water heaters are replaced only after they fail, shipment volumes track closely with housing activity and the pace at which distributors work through existing inventory.
Commercial Water Heater Shipments Split By Fuel Type
Commercial water heater shipments told a more mixed story. Commercial gas storage water heater shipments rose 10.4% in April, to 8,814 units, compared with 7,982 units shipped in April 2025, AHRI's data show. Commercial electric storage water heater shipments moved the opposite direction, falling 7.8% to 14,602 units from 15,836 units a year earlier. Year-to-date, commercial gas water heater shipments are up 4.7%, to 32,586 units, while commercial electric water heater shipments are down 1.4%, to 56,828 units, through the same period.
Commercial water heater demand tends to track nonresidential construction activity, hospitality renovation cycles and multifamily housing turnover more closely than residential remodeling trends, which helps explain why the gas and electric commercial segments moved in opposite directions even as both residential categories declined in tandem.
AHRI's April release also tracked other equipment categories covered under its monthly statistical program. Gas warm air furnace shipments totaled 251,401 units in April, down 4.9% from 264,259 units a year earlier, while oil furnace shipments climbed 32.1%, to 2,477 units, from a much smaller base of 1,875 units in April 2025. Year-to-date gas furnace shipments are down 11.6%, to roughly 966,900 units, compared with about 1.1 million units shipped over the same span in 2025.
Combined shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps rose 5.1% in April, to 837,098 units, compared with 796,279 units a year earlier, with air conditioner shipments increasing 8% and heat pump shipments up 1.8%. Even so, year-to-date combined air conditioner and heat pump shipments remain down 3.5%, reflecting a slower start to the year across the cooling equipment category despite the improvement in April alone.
AHRI, based in Arlington, Virginia, compiles the shipment data monthly from member manufacturers and typically issues each report roughly six to eight weeks after the covered month closes. The institute's May 2026 shipment report, covering the most recent month for which AHRI collects data, is scheduled for release the second Friday of July.
AHRI's monthly shipment report aggregates data voluntarily submitted by member manufacturers participating in the trade association's statistics program and reflects U.S. shipments to all 50 states and the District of Columbia, regardless of whether the equipment was manufactured domestically or imported. The report does not break out shipment data by state or region.
Water heater shipments have trended lower for several consecutive months, according to AHRI's monthly releases, with the softness spanning both major fuel types tracked in the residential segment. The pattern has persisted even as manufacturers have continued to introduce higher-efficiency storage and heat pump water heater models, suggesting the overall decline is being driven more by unit volume than by a shift toward different technology types within the water heater category.
AHRI represents manufacturers of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration and water heating equipment worldwide, and its monthly shipment figures are widely used by distributors, manufacturers and financial analysts to benchmark demand trends across the broader HVACR and water heating supply chain. The trade association's statistics program has published monthly U.S. shipment data for years and remains one of the primary sources of shipment-level demand data for the industry.
