Major Appliance Shipments Continue to Fall, AHAM Says

WASHINGTON — Unit shipments of major appliances such as washers and dryers fell more than 17% in May, marking the sixth consecutive month of double-digit declines in factory sales, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM). Shipments fell nearly 1 million units in May and were down 5 million units, or nearly 17%, in the year to date.

Declines within the core “AHAM 6” categories, which include washers, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers, ranges and ovens, appeared to moderate somewhat in May, with the composite falling a relatively modest 11% year over year.

However, the downturn in major appliance shipments is now in its third year, so year-over-year comparisons are lapping nearly 24 months of successive unit shipment declines.

Looking at individual components, washers fell 9.5% to about 578,700 units and dryers fell 11.4% to about 490,500 units.