WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) and the Motor & Equipment Remanufacturers Association (MERA), the remanufacturing affiliate of MEMA, have issued a statement welcoming the March 7 publication of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report: “Use of Remanufactured Parts in the Federal Vehicle Fleet Is Based On a Variety of Factors.”
The report is the culmination of a bipartisan request made by 18 members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives to the GAO in December 2011. The two associations say the effort stemmed from a Remanufacturing Legislative Summit hosted by MERA and the Remanufacturing Industries Council (RIC).
The request was led by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.), who sought greater information on the usage of remanufactured parts when servicing the vehicles that make up the federal vehicle fleet.
The GAO was asked to look at repair decisions made by federal fleets, excluding Department of Defense vehicles. According to the study, these agencies reported approximately $975 million in maintenance and repair costs for fiscal year 2011 for the roughly 588,000 vehicles owned by the federal agencies studied in the report.
The study found that the government regularly uses remanufactured parts when appropriate, the associations have reported. Much like American consumers, agencies seek the best value for the federal government with each repair, and make a decision to use remanufactured parts on a case-by-case basis with decisions based on a number of factors. These factors include:
• Cost of the part,
• Availability of the part,
• Reliability of the remanufactured part,
• Cost of labor, and
• Remaining vehicle life.
“We applaud Sen. Stabenow and Rep. Rokita for their leadership in seeking this information, and the GAO for their work on this report,” said Ann Wilson, senior vice president, government affairs, MEMA. “The final report was thorough and informative, and it demonstrated the value and quality of remanufactured motor vehicle parts.”
“According to a recent USITC report, the U.S. is a world leader in remanufacturing, and on average, remanufacturing saves 85 percent of the energy and material used to create new parts,” said John Chalifoux, president and COO, MERA. “MEMA and MERA will continue to work with the U.S. government and other key partners to increase awareness of the substantial environmental, economic and product performance benefits of remanufactured parts.”
