The collision repair industry in the U.S. experienced a notable decline in the overall length of rental (LOR) times for collision-related rentals in the second quarter of 2024, according to the latest Q2 report from Enterprise Mobility.
The average LOR dropped to 16.0 days, a 1.4-day decrease from the same period in 2023.
Alaska recorded the highest overall LOR at 20.7 days, followed by Colorado and West Virginia at 19.4 days each. North Dakota had the lowest LOR at 11.1 days. Montana saw the largest drop in LOR, decreasing by 3.1 days to 16.7 days, while West Virginia was the only state to see an increase, rising by half a day to 19.4 days.
John Yoswick, editor of the CRASH Network newsletter, noted a significant decline in the average backlog of work in shops nationwide.
“Backlogs always drop from Q1 to Q2 each year, typically by two or three days. This year, however, backlog plummeted by nearly nine days in the second quarter – the largest decline since the 10-day drop at the start of the pandemic lockdowns in 2020,” Yoswick said.
Greg Horn, PartsTrader’s chief industry relations officer, highlighted that median delivery days for all part types decreased by 2.4 days from Q2 2023 to Q2 2024, aligning with the reduction in rental days.
“We are seeing the collision parts ecosystem working well, having recovered from issues at the west coast shipping ports and the UAW strike in 2023,” Horn added.
In terms of drivable LOR, the average dropped to 14.6 days in Q2 2024, a 0.9-day decrease from the previous year. Alaska had the highest drivable LOR at 18.5 days, while North Dakota had the lowest at 9.4 days. West Virginia recorded the highest increase in drivable LOR, rising by 1.4 days to 16.4 days.
Non-drivable LOR saw a significant decrease, dropping by 3.2 days to 22.4 days in Q2 2024. Alaska had the highest non-drivable LOR at 31.9 days, while Washington, D.C. had the lowest at 18.5 days. Vermont was the only state to see an increase in non-drivable LOR, rising by 2.5 days to 28.6 days.
Ryan Mandell, Director of Claims Performance for Mitchell International, observed an increase in total loss frequency to 19.8% in Q2 2024, up from 18.5% in Q2 2023.
“As vehicle values continue to decline, we expect total loss frequency to gradually increase as well,” Mandell said.
The report also highlighted a significant increase in the number of body technicians and painters in the industry, helping shops work through backlogs more quickly.
According to the Department of Labor, there were 99,540 body technicians employed by mid-2023, an increase of more than 8,000 in just one year.
