According to a report by Enterprise, the overall length of rental (LOR) has been on a downward trend since 2021 in the U.S.
Collision-related rentals in late 2023 were for 17.7 days, a one-day decline from late 2022. In 2022, LOR was up half a day from 2021.
The LOR for non-drivable vehicles in 2023 was 24.7 days, a 2.4-day drop from Q4 2022. The report notes that this is a significant reduction, as 2022’s LOR of 27.1 days was an equally significant rise (+2.8) from 2021. The LOR for non-drivable vehicles was 24.3 days in 2020.
For rentals associated with drivable claims, the LOR was 16 days in 2023, down 0.2 days from 2022.
The LOR associated with total loss claims was 16.3 days in 2023, a 1.9-day drop from 2022. The LOR for rotal loss claims in 2021 was 17.6 days.
The report states that repairers are finding ways to anticipate and operate in “the new normal,” however, challenging market conditions remain, and the overall LOR remains significantly higher than it was pre-pandemic.
PartsTrader’s Chief Innovation Officer, Greg Horn, says the decrease in LOR has to do with fewer parts being ordered due to a milder winter compared to last year’s early and heavier winter. "Now that we are seeing significant weather in Q1 2024, we can expect a corresponding increase in non-drives with an increased number of parts per repair,” he added to the report.
John Yoswick, editor of the weekly CRASH Network newsletter, said, "About 42% of the more than 300 responding shops were seeing increased parts issues in 2023 – including almost 1 in 5 who said they were experiencing ‘significantly more’ parts challenges compared to late 2022.”
