RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC — Replacement rates for a number of aftermarket service jobs increased in 2005 as consumers performed overdue maintenance on their vehicles put off from the previous year. This is according to “2006 Replacement Rates of U.S. Automotive Parts,” a report compiled by the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA).
The increase in the replacement rates falls in line with AASA’s estimated unperformed maintenance in the United States, which decreased in 2005 to approximately $52 billion. Service procedures and products such as wheel balancing, tires and climate control-related products saw increases in 2005, as did many other preventative maintenance products like batteries and drive belts.
“We believe that consumers are looking to prolong the lives of their vehicles due to higher gas prices and have started to perform service jobs that they for one reason or another hadn’t done in 2004 or earlier,” said Steve Handschuh, AASA executive director.
Frank Hampshire, director of research for AASA, added “Our data shows that Americans are not changing their driving habits and have not reduced the number of miles they are driving, while the age of the vehicles continues to increase. This should result in better replacement rate periods and be a positive for the aftermarket industry.”
Numerous product categories showed ‘across the board’ increases in replacement rates including heating and cooling products. For example, the rate of A/C compressors, condensers and blowers increased to their highest level in the history of the report. There were some products whose replacement rates did decrease, such as air filters. According to Hampshire, these products decreased to normal levels after experiencing higher than normal replacement rates in 2004 – primarily due to consumers performing service work that they thought could increase fuel economy.
AASA’s Replacement Rates report is a pocket-sized guide to the U.S. light vehicle aftermarket for more than 90 service jobs. The report, available only to AASA members, provides six years of trended data to help members estimate product life and market size. Orders can be placed by e-mailing: [email protected].
_______________________________________
Click here to view the rest of today’s headlines.
