In 2025, the global market for residential air conditioners (RACs) and packaged air conditioners (PACs) lost growth momentum. Cooler temperatures and a less intensely hot summer in many regions reduced RAC demand, while the global economic slowdown and sluggish real estate activity further dampened consumer purchasing power. At the same time, heightened geopolitical tensions disrupted supply chain stability on the production side and created new maritime security risks in distribution, adding uncertainty to industry operations. In a context of increasingly stringent energy saving and environmental requirements, policy progress has been uneven across countries, and budget constraints for equipment upgrades remain significant, slowing the pace of industry transformation. Major markets – including China, Europe, India, Latin America, and Southeast Asia – generally experienced weak growth in 2025 due to abnormally cool weather, high inventory levels, and macroeconomic fluctuations.
Although Africa and the Middle East recorded relatively strong expansion this was not enough to offset the overall global slowdown.
Amid multiple intertwined challenges, the global air conditioning industry is ushering in a new era driven by structural optimization and technological innovation. According to JARN’s statistics, RAC demand decreased by 1.4% year on year, while PAC sales decreased by 3.4%.Amid multiple intertwined challenges, the global air conditioning industry is ushering in a new era driven by structural optimization and technological innovation. According to JARN’s statistics, RAC demand decreased by 1.4% year on year, while PAC sales decreased by 3.4%.
Meantime U.S. market indicates shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps totaled 638,841 units in February 2026, increased +0.4 percent compared to 636,302 units shipped in February 2025. U.S. shipments of air conditioners decreased -4.2 percent, to 328,145 units, compared to 342,542 units shipped in February 2025. U.S. shipments of air-source heat pumps increased +5.8 percent, to 310,696 units, compared to 293,760 shipped in February 2025.
