Experian Automotive today announced that new vehicle registration volumes for light-duty vehicles reached the highest point in the past nine years. During the rolling year from Nov. 1, 2014, through Oct. 31, 2015, there were more than 17 million new vehicles registered within the United States — a metric that hasn’t been achieved since 2006. […]
State Farm’s Market Realignment Impact on Collision Repair Labor Rates
When State Farm announced earlier this year it would realign the local markets it uses to establish labor rates it said the effort might impact prevailing competitive prices paid to collision repair centers. We surveyed repairers to gauge the impact on labor rates and allowances. In July, State Farm announced it was realigning its traditional […]
Collision Claims, Frequency and Losses Grow During 1st Half of 2015
Major auto physical damage indicators continue to see increases this year after strong performance in 2014. Losses on collision claims up 8.4 percent during the first half versus a year ago. According to the latest available Fast Track Monitoring system data from the Independent Statistical Service Inc. (ISS), private passenger collision claims and losses continued […]
Traffic Volume Up 2.3% in August
With gas prices declining, record levels of driving were reported and growth continues across all five regions in the U.S. Travel for the month of August is estimated at 277.3 billion vehicle miles nationwide according to the most recent data released by the Federal Highway Administration. The August result continues the good news for the […]
Collision Repair Industry Production Up in August
Gains in both production employees and hours worked drive significant improvement compared to July and August 2014. Production employment at record levels. 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 auto body repair industry was up in August compared […]
Body Repair Prices, Auto Insurance and Inflation
Body repair prices in September up less than one percent compared to year ago. Auto insurance prices were up more than five percent during the same period. The most recent government figures on inflation through September 2015 indicate the rate of growth for body repair prices has declined significantly during the year. However, the latest […]
Wholesale Used Vehicle Prices Relatively Flat in September
ADESA Analytical Services reports slight increase overall in wholesale used vehicle prices compared to both August and prior year. According to ADESA Analytical Services’ monthly analysis of Wholesale Used Vehicle Prices, average wholesale used vehicle prices were relatively flat in September, as car prices fell while truck prices rose in light of low fuel prices. […]
NHTSA Reports Increase in Drivers Text-Messaging in 2014
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration saw an increase of nearly 30 percent in drivers that were observed text messaging or visibly manipulating a handheld device in 2014 versus the previous year. According to research by the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) the percentage of drivers observed text-messaging or visibly […]
A Profile of the Evolving Collision Repair Marketplace – Part 4
By Vincent J. Romans and Mary Jane Kurowski, The Romans Group Part 4 of our annual series by Vincent Romans and Mary Jane Kurowski examines the consolidated U.S. and Canadian collision repair markets. <Part 3 ———————————————————————————– U.S. and Canada Consolidated North America When comparing the property and casualty insurance and auto industry, top ten insurers’ […]
A Profile of the Evolving Collision Repair Marketplace – Part 3
By Vincent J. Romans and Mary Jane Kurowski, The Romans Group Part 3 of our annual series by Vincent Romans and Mary Jane Kurowski examines the Canadian collision repair market. <Part 2 ———————————————————————————- Part 4> Canada Canada’s overall market size for both private insurance and consumer-paid vehicle repair revenue was $2.7 billion for 2014, down […]