International. The latest summer update data from analyst BSRIA shows that the global air conditioning market is expected to grow another year, meaning that this sector has been growing five years in a row now.
The global air conditioning market is expected to reach US$115.8 billion by the end of the year, representing 4% of the growth in value.
While sales across all product segments have increased, divisions were the main category that drove growth, expanding slightly above the 4% average, with chillers and roofs showing more modest progress below 3% in terms of value.
By region, the Americas was the largest contributor to global growth, expanding above the global average of 5%, followed by the MEIA region 4.5%, while Asia Pacific and Europe saw their markets rise below the average of 4% and 3% respectively.
In the Americas, Brazil and the U.S. (the latter being by far the largest geographic market in the region) were the main contributors to the 7% and 6% growth in value, respectively. Sales in the U.S. were driven by demand from the residential sector, in contrast to much more modest growth in non-residential applications.
The opposite situation was observed in Argentina and Mexico, both affected by their struggling economies; including currency depreciation, rising interest rates and sharp declines in construction activity.
The Asia Pacific region accounts for more than 50% of the global air conditioning market. All updated markets in the region showed varying degrees of growth except Australia. Australia is expected to decline again in 2019 by 2% in terms of volume, affected by a considerable drop in the residential segment due to changes in stricter lending laws and regulations.
Growth in China, the world's largest air conditioning market, slowed considerably to 4% from 9% in 2018, mainly affected by the slowdown seen in the single-division market, reflecting the situation observed in the residential real estate market.
For its part, the European market is expected to grow by 3.4% in value in 2019, with all countries in the region performing positively except Turkey and the United Kingdom. Europe's two largest air conditioning markets: Italy and France show remarkable expansion of 12%, something unusual for a relatively mature market, while Spain and Germany progressed widely in line with the regional average.
Source: BSRIA.
