HVAC Brand Myth

The HVAC Brand Truth
U.S. Customs Import Data — Public Record

The HVAC
Brand Myth.

Trane. Lennox. Carrier. Goodman. Four household names. One address on the other side of the world. Here's what the shipping records actually show.

TRANE — 1,456 sea shipments LENNOX — 5,046 sea shipments CARRIER — 3,363 sea shipments GOODMAN — 382 sea shipments
73–99%
of each brand's
shipments come from Asia
4
major brands. All ordering
from the same factories.
$0
extra in performance
for the premium markup
10K+
shipment records reviewed
from public customs data
// The shared supply chain

Same factories.
Different stickers.

These are the actual manufacturers sending equipment to each brand — straight from U.S. customs bill-of-lading records. Notice anything? The same factory names keep showing up across every brand you "choose" between.

GD Midea Air Conditioning
📍 China / Portugal
Carrier
804
Lennox
527
Trane
170
Broad Ocean Motor Co.
📍 China / Vietnam
Carrier
356
Lennox
427
Guangdong Welling Motor
📍 China / Vietnam
Lennox
884
Gree Electric Appliances
📍 China (Hong Kong)
Lennox
329
Goodman
88
Guangdong Hangji Metal
📍 China
Trane
382
Sanhua Micro Channel HX
📍 China (Hangzhou)
Trane
49

Source: ImportYeti.com — U.S. customs sea freight records. Shipment counts reflect records on file per supplier relationship. importyeti.com

// Where it actually comes from

The origin breakdown
by brand.

This chart uses real customs import data. When you pick a "brand," you're picking a logo — the equipment still ships from the same region of the world regardless.

% of sea shipments by origin region — all 4 brands
Asia Europe North America
// Actual bill-of-lading records

Real shipments.
Real addresses.

These are pulled from actual U.S. Customs ocean freight records — publicly available. This is what's in the box before the label goes on.

Brand Actual Supplier Origin Product Description (from customs record) Shipments
Carrier GD Midea Air Conditioning Equip. China Air conditioners / AC parts 804
Lennox Guangdong Welling Motor China / Vietnam Fan motors, AC motors 884
Lennox Midea Group China VRF systems, heat pump assemblies 527
Lennox Gree Electric Appliances China Air conditioning units 329
Carrier Broad Ocean Motor Co. China / Vietnam Electric motors, HVAC motors 356
Trane Guangdong Hangji Metal China AC headers, tubing assemblies, valve assemblies 382
Goodman HK Gree Electric Appliances China / HK Air conditioners, AC spare parts 88
Trane Sanhua Hangzhou Micro Channel HX China Micro channel heat exchangers 49
Lennox Benchmark Electronics Thailand PCB assemblies, control boards, thermostats 307
Goodman Prime Technology Guangzhou China Control boards, electronics, thermostats 77

Source: ImportYeti.com / U.S. Customs ocean freight records. importyeti.com/company/trane · /lennox · /goodman · /carrier

// What this actually means for you

A brand is a brand.
It's all just stickers.

These companies are not manufacturers in the traditional sense. They are importers, assemblers, and distributors with a logo on the box. Here's what the data actually tells you:

01
Carrier buys 804 shipments worth of equipment from Midea. Midea is one of the largest appliance manufacturers on earth. That same Midea factory also ships to Lennox (527 shipments) and Trane (170 shipments). You can buy from the source directly — at a fraction of the brand markup.
02
Lennox and Carrier both buy motors from Broad Ocean Motor Co. in China. The motor inside your "premium" Lennox unit and your neighbor's Carrier is the same supplier's product. What's different? The logo and the price tag.
03
Goodman (owned by Daikin) imports 99.7% of its supply chain from Asia. Daikin is a Japanese company. Goodman's "American" branding is marketing. The boxes ship from Gree and Prime Technology Guangzhou.
04
None of these brands disclose this publicly. They want you thinking about "Trane quality" and "Carrier reliability." The customs record tells a different story — they're all ordering from the same Southeast Asian manufacturing ecosystem.
// AC Factory Services

We believe you deserve
to know what you're buying.

At AC Factory Services, transparency isn't a marketing line — it's how we operate. Now that you know where these systems actually come from, you can choose your next unit with real confidence. No brand tax. No smoke and mirrors. Just honest equipment at an honest price.

All shipment data sourced from publicly available U.S. Customs ocean freight records via ImportYeti.com
Trane — importyeti.com  ·  Lennox — importyeti.com  ·  Goodman — importyeti.com  ·  Carrier — importyeti.com
Data reflects sea freight records only. Coverage estimates: 10–30% of total freight activity per brand.