By Mike Davey
Ottawa, Ontario — August 23, 2017 — There are more shops in Canada now that there were two years ago, according to the newly released 2017 Canadian Collision Repair Industry Yearbook, recently released by AIA Canada. The publication was prepared by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.
According to the new publication, there were a total of 4,957 businesses in the automotive body paint and interior maintenance industry in 2016. This is a small increase from the figures in 2015, which showed 4,915 establishments in the same category. However, even a small increase runs counter to the prevailing wisdom that shop numbers are continuing to fall as they have in previous years.
The new report also estimates that were a total of 22,311 employees in the Canadian collision industry in 2016, an increase from the figure of 22,280 given in the previous year.
The yearbook is divided into two sections. The first provides a national overview of the collision repair industry, while the second section provides in-depth analysis for each province.
In addition to the rise in shop numbers, the report notes that claims and bodyshop sales have also risen. The third quarter of 2016 saw national claims rise 14.9 percent, with bodyshop sales increasing by 16 percent in the same period. The industry as a whole averaged a net profit of 7.7 percent.
The 2017 Canadian Collision Repair Industry Yearbook is free for members of AIA Canada. Non-members can purchase a copy at this link.
The Executive Summary is also available free of charge, and can be downloaded from AIA Canada here.
