Toronto, Ontario — August 14, 2019 — Canadian repairers better lace up their work boots and be ready to catch up. A snapshot report of the American automotive industry has just been released and all signs are pointing to a rapidly growing trade in the U.S.
The Collision Repair Education Foundation – co-sponsored by I-CAR – released the detailed report earlier this week, highlighting the number of increased businesses, technicians, turnover rates in the industry. Nearly every segment of the report revealed some type of substantial growth.
According to the report, since 2016, 656 auto shops have opened, increasing the number of technicians by 9700.
Not only has the number of techs increased, but to match the growing businesses, the average size of repair shops has also increased significantly too.
13,000 square foot facilities are a thing of the past, now, the average auto repair facility is more than 15,114 sq. ft.
In addition to the growing number of workers and their work facilities, the survey also revealed that shops are making much more money.
“The percentage of small shops (with annual sales under $300,000) has steadily declined since 1995,” stated the report. “While the share of large shops (over $1 million) continues to increase.”
While auto repair shops down South are only moving up, I-CAR CEO and President, John Van Alstyne, says that there’s still a need for more technicians to match the growing industry.
“The survey verifies the critical need for well-trained collision repair technicians–both today and in the future,” reported Van Alstyne.
It is still unclear whether a Canadian report will be released, but until then keep up to date on the Canadian industry’s progress by visiting aiacanada.com
To get a peek into the report, click here!
