by Amy Antenora,
Managing Editor, aftermarketNews.com
Posted: May 11, 2005, 9 a.m., EST
Editor’s Note: This is an analysis of the annual AASA Top 100 Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers list. This year’s list, sponsored by Affinia, was released today at the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium in Chicago and will be distributed with the June issue of Counterman.
For the third year in a row, global tiremakers such as Bridgestone and Michelin have come out on top of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association’s 2005 Top 100 Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers list. In fact, the first five companies ranked are all tiremakers.
First created in 2003, the annual AASA Top 100 Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers list has become a valuable resource, not only for professionals working in this industry, but also those who monitor it, such as industry analysts and investors. The list ranks aftermarket suppliers with manufacturing facilities in North America by their annual North American aftermarket sales. North America, in this instance, is defined as the United States and Canada.
The past 12 months have brought about a number of changes in the aftermarket, particularly at the supplier level, where several notable companies either bought or sold parts of their businesses. Mergers and acquisitions have made some of the industry’s top companies into even bigger players, while nearly all companies doing business today are impacted by the challenges of the market (margin compression, raw material prices and economic factors).
Leading the way at number-one on the list, as it has the past two years, is Bridgestone Corp., with $9.2 billion in annual sales in the North American aftermarket. Michelin ranked second; Goodyear third; Continental fourth; and Cooper Tire & Rubber ranked number-five on this year’s list, with $1.9 billion in sales to North America in 2004.
Not far behind, making it to the top ten, are major aftermarket players Federal-Mogul, Affinia (the new incarnation of the former Dana Automotive Aftermarket Group) Delphi, DuPont and Johnson Controls, each bringing in at least $1.3 billion in North American aftermarket sales annually.
Wheel and component maker Accuride Corp.’s acquisition earlier this year of Transportation Technologies resulted in a $203 million increase in its annual sales in North America. The acquisition bumped the company up from number 56 on the 2004 list, to number 31 this year, with a total of $264 million in annual North American aftermarket sales. Conversely, Dana Corp.’s sale of its Automotive Aftermarket Group pulled the company from number five on the 2004 list to number 27 this year. Its former aftermarket division, now called Affinia Group Inc., made its debut on the list this year at number seven, with $1.7 billion in annual sales to North America.
Two other acquisitions impacted the aftermarket suppliers’ playing field in recent months. SPX’s acquisition of Actron Manufacturing provided SPX with an additional $40 million in annual North American sales. New to the ranked list this year, SPX entered the list at number 33, with total annual North American sales of $250 million.
One company absent from this year’s list is Douglas Battery, which was recently acquired by East Penn Manufacturing. The addition of Douglas Battery added about $115 million to East Penn’s annual North American aftermarket sales. The company debuted on the 2005 list at number 19, taking in $700 million in annual North American aftermarket sales.
To view a PDF of the 2005 AASA Top Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers List, go to: http://www.aftermarketnews.com/top.asp
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