ASA’s Monthly Sales Report: August Sales Show Mixed Results - PHCP Up, Industrial PVF Down, but Long-Term Growth Holds Steady

By primary business emphasis the industrial PVF distributors said August sales -4.7% year-over-year (y/y). Year-to-date (YTD) sales +7.3% and trailing-twelve-month (TTM) sales +8.8%.

All respondents overall reported a median August sale of +2.8% y/y and -6.0% vs. July 2025. Calendar-year YTD sales +6.4%; TTM sales +6.7%. Inventory: +6.0% versus August 2024. Cash cycle: Median three-month average Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) fell to 41 days.

Please Note: due to small sample sizes within the $15-$24.9M category, we again rolled them into the Less than $15M to create a "Less than $25M" sales volume category.

Economic Indicators:
Real GDP (Q2 2025): revised upward to 3.3% (annualized). Wholesale trade (July): Sales +6.2% y/y; inventories +1.3%; “real” wholesale sales (inflation-adjusted) +5.6%. Residential construction (August): Housing starts and permit activity both dropped in August in a lead up to anticipated Fed rate cuts. Labor market: The national unemployment rate for August edged up to 4.3% as the labor market continued to show signs of softening.

What ASA members are saying:

“After an uptick in activity and strong results during the prior month, quote activity and sales lost momentum and fell short of expectations during August. While top line results are in line or slightly ahead of last year due to price increases, the number of invoices and items sold are down as activity continues to be impacted by uncertainty and elevated cost levels.”

 “August was a bit softer than the past few months but September is off to a strong start. We are starting to get a bit concerned that price increases are putting a dent in demand but we are hoping for a cold winter and that interest rate cuts can stimulate the economy a bit.”

“Business is solid. Still trying to purge 410A inventory. Interest rate cut later in Sept would spur residential and multifamily.”

“Business is still good, and remains consistent.”

“Overall it has been a good summer/quarter.”

“Sales have been consistently higher than a year ago month over month. This increase is partly due to higher prices and partly due to a fuller pipeline of projects.”

“Tariffs are the most significant factor affecting our business.”