Auto Parts Supply Update
As all states across the U.S. have transitioned to reopening since the end of the second quarter, it’s important to look at the potential impact that reopening may have on the auto parts supply chain as collision repair volumes begin to return to pre-COVID levels. The number of collision repairs in the United States dipped 50% or more during the quarantine, while collision repairers stayed open as an essential business. Our earlier study of the supply chain found that while the number of repairs were cut in half, parts suppliers of all part types remained open, quoted at the usual frequency, and offered more aggressive pricing. Delivery quote times remained steady during the lockdown and helped reduce cycle time during that period.
We looked at the fresh second quarter results for quotes per part and our measure of the health for the auto parts supply chain to see if the increase in repair volume strained the supply chain. To do this, we took the weekly average of quotes per part for each week in the quarter as our measure.
Split out by region, the results have shown that the Southeast corner of the country has had the highest average quote volume at 6.2 quotes per part, evenly split between ALT quotes (alternate parts include both aftermarket and recycled) at 3.1 quotes per part and new OEM at 3.1 quotes per part.
Moving on to specific high-volume parts, we’ve seen that front lamp quotes are robust, with aftermarket quotes nearly double those of OEM. Recycled lamps have averaged a very consistent 4 quotes per part in the second quarter. Hood quotes per part also remained at a very steady quote volume.
There were some initial thoughts that parts shipments from overseas or the shut down of auto assembly plants would restrict the supply of collision repair parts during this global pandemic. However, the measures of quotes per part, as well as quoted delivery, shows that the collision industry auto parts supply chain remained remarkably resilient during the most challenging time of the 21st century.
Greg Horn
Greg Horn is PartsTrader’s
Chief Innovation Officer.
