Demand trends for vehicle repair improved in July versus the prior year's period, continuing the healthier growth trends seen by general repair shops since the end of 1Q17, according to Northcoast Research.
The survey responses, collected from nearly 300 independent garage owners, show sales gains in the period were driven by positive ticket and traffic trends. 27.3 percent of the respondents noted seeing stronger ticket trends.
Positive results were driven by the benefits from car owners’ having a relatively healthy attitude toward preventative maintenance combined with completing previously deferred maintenance, especially in many of the key cold weather markets.
The general repair facilities across the Great Lakes, Northeast (strongest among the three), and Mid-Atlantic regions of the country are seeing the most notable improvement compared to earlier in the year.
Anecdotal commentary suggests that the value of the average repair order continued to benefit from a higher mix of medium and heavy-duty repair work, largely caused by an aging car parc, which typically requires higher-priced hard parts, more parts per job, and more man-hours.
The trend of installing more technologically advanced parts in late model vehicles is also helping to support the average ticket, research suggests.
Despite the positive feedback from the respondents, the research team's work suggests that cooler weather, more rain, and less residual headwinds from the unseasonably warm winter restricted ticket and traffic trends in July.
