SIC 5078 Refrigeration Equipment and Supplies

SIC 5078

This industry consists of companies primarily engaged in the manufacture of wholesale refrigeration equipment and supplies. Industry products include beverage coolers, refrigerated display cases, drinking water coolers, ice cream cabinets, ice-making machines, walk-in and reach-in commercial refrigerators, and refrigerated soda fountain fixtures. Companies that primarily install refrigeration equipment from their own stock are in SIC 1711: Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning.

NAICS CODE(S)

421740

Refrigeration Equipment and Supplies Wholesalers

According to Dun & Bradstreet, there were 2,867 establishments involved in the industry of wholesale refrigeration equipment and supplies in 2006. There were approximately 18,454 employees in the industry, which posted sales of nearly $3.2 billion. The average sales per establishment was $1.6. million.

The largest value of shipments in this industry by state include California, New York, and Texas. Refrigeration equipment and supplies dominated the market, with 40 percent of industry sales.

In 2005, the industry experienced an acute shortage of R-134a, a key refrigerant for production. The shortage was due to increased demand in a variety of uses, including commercial refrigeration, home and auto air conditioners, and insulating agents, as well as the phase-out of CFCs in 113 countries worldwide. The price of R-134a tripled as a result.

In 1999, the Environmental Protection Agency flexed its muscle by enforcing its 1992 Refrigerants Recycling regulations. First, the EPA fined New York City $50 million for venting refrigerants into the atmosphere by not removing them before crushing refrigerators and air conditioners for disposal. The EPA also enforced its anti-leakage regulations by fining GTE in California $85,000 for insufficient repair work on its refrigeration system. The agency simultaneously proposed lower allowable leakage rates, dropping the acceptable level from 35 percent to as low as 5 percent, depending on the type of system.

In September 1995, the EPA enacted its Clean Air Act Amendment, tightening leak repair requirements for owners and operators. Still, as the economy improved and interest rates went down, refrigeration equipment and supplies sales rose during the mid-1990s.

A poor economy during the early 1990s lowered refrigeration equipment sales. Large refrigeration equipment buyers, such as supermarkets, had trouble obtaining...

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