After the blizzard in the Northeast impacted March vehicle traffic, April’s growth rate was 50 percent higher. Traffic volume up 1.2 percent for the month. Travel volume in April rebounded after slower growth in March, continuing the trend of increased driving that has led to the growth in both auto physical damage insurance claims and […]
U.S. Body Repair Prices, Auto Insurance and Inflation Through May 2017
Auto body repair prices in May up more than two percent compared to year ago. Auto insurance prices were up 7 percent during the same period. The most recent government figures on inflation through May 2017 indicate the rate of growth of auto body repair prices continue to increase slightly above the rate of inflation […]
Backyard Competition: Analysis of U.S. Collision Repair Non-Employers
The number of small collision repairers in the U.S. without employees, and their sales, remain near record levels. As the collision repair industry continues to grow following the recession as evidenced by our reports detailing the number of independent repair facility with payroll and collision repair production, the number of smaller repairers, those without payroll, […]
Collision Repair Industry Production Up in March
After hitting record levels in December and January, production declined in both February but recovered slightly in March. An analysis of the latest data released from the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), shows that total production for the collision repair industry was up in March versus the previous month and up […]
Traffic Volume Up 0.8% in March
Blizzard in Northeast led to decline in traffic for the month in the region. Other regions see increases. Travel data in March continued the trend of increased driving that has led to the growth in both auto physical damage insurance claims and collision repair industry volume across the U.S. Travel for the month of March […]
Collision Repair Labor Rates for Aluminum Show Wide Variation by Market in the U.S.
Our comparison of average steel body and structural labor rates to cosmetic aluminum and structural rates shows wide variations by Metropolitan Statistical Area. As collision repair facilities have invested in aluminum repair capabilities, by far one of the most common questions we get from readers on both the repair and insurance side of the industry, […]
Wholesale Used Vehicle Prices Up in April
According to ADESA Analytic Services report April prices were up both versus the previous month and previous year. Mid-size cars and SUV/CUVs see decreases. According to the ADESA Analytical Services’ monthly analysis of Wholesale Used Vehicle Prices, average wholesale prices in April were up on both a month-over-month and year-over-year basis. As has been stated […]
Length of Rental Growth Rate Slowed in First Quarter
According to the latest research from Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the U.S. collision repair industry’s average length of rental increased at a slower rate during the last quarter. The rate of average Length of Rental (LOR) growth declined in Q1 of 2017 for the first time in multiple quarters increasing only a modest .2 days from 11.9 […]
Independent Collision Repair Facility Population Decreased Slightly in 2015
Latest data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reverses trend of independent collision repair facility population growth that started in 2012. The latest available data from the U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns annual research series covering 2015 shows that the number of independent collision repair businesses with payroll decreased slightly in 2015 after three […]
Collision Claims, Frequency and Losses Grew at Higher Rate in 2016 Compared to 2015
Auto physical damage indicators influencing the collision repair industry continued to increase in the fourth quarter of 2016. Losses on collision claims up over 11 percent for 2016 compared to previous year. According to the latest available Fast Track Monitoring system data from the Independent Statistical Service Inc. (ISS), private passenger collision claims and losses […]