— 2021-2022 EDITION

THE STATE OF HEAVY-DUTY REPAIR REPORT.

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Video Walk-Through:

ABOUT OUR REPORT

We followed video data trends in 2021, and it’s clear the dramatic increases in video creation and consumption caused by the pandemic are here to stay. Brands, and their audiences, have one resounding message: We. Love. Video. Enjoy this report and feel free to use the statistics listed here in any commercial or non-commercial capacity—all we ask is that you link back to this web page as the original source.

OUR METHOD

We analyzed user data from over 330K Wistia accounts and 42M+ videos uploaded to our platform from 2019-2021. We also surveyed over 600 customers to find out how they’re thinking about and planning their video marketing strategy for this upcoming year.

AGE RANGE OF SHOP EMPLOYEES

The average age of shop employees tends to be on the younger side—over a third of those surveyed identified themselves as 18-34 years old. But the older generation is represented, too, as 7% of respondents are 65 or older.

GENDER BREAKDOWN

Women are still a considerable minority in the industry, making up just 17% of our overall respondents. Men made up the other 83%.

Be open to all age ranges and gender types [in your shop]. First, because it's the right thing to do, and second, we are going to need everyone moving forward.

Stacy Conner President, Equipment Experts, Inc

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WHO DOES WHAT IN THE SHOP?

Most responders were technicians, with owners and service managers close on their heels.

WHAT KIND OF BUSINESS DO YOU RUN?

Over half the shops we spoke to described themselves as independent operations. That said, just over 26% of them are focused on internal fleet repair.

HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN IN BUSINESS?

Thirty-two percent of our respondents have been in the industry for a long, long time—over 20 years! Happily, we’re also seeing new shops emerging, as 29% of operations surveyed are five years or younger.

NUMBER OF LOCATIONS

Over half of all shops only have one location. This wasn’t incredibly surprising, as most independent operations are small businesses without the funding or manpower to open multiple operations. We also noted that mobile-only techs—those without a physical location—made up about 7% of the population.

REPAIR SHOP REVENUE RANGES

We see a lot of variation in revenue across the country! Overall, 22% of shops net $250,000 or less each year, while 20% are bringing in between $1 to $2 million. A handful of operations (4%) pulled in $6 million or more per year.

SHOP NET PROFIT

Upwards of 80% of shops are seeing a net profit. However, we’re still seeing about 17% of shops that just don’t know what their net profit is.

My biggest takeaway was that 17% of shops didn't know if they were profitable. It's a necessity in any business to know where your profits or losses stand; it's the only true way to gauge and plan the future of your business.

Jack Poster VMRS Services Manager, TMC

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HOW MANY TECHNICIANS DO YOU EMPLOY?

Fifty-nine percent of our respondents reported between 0-5 techs on their payroll. Meanwhile, 33% had between 6-15 techs. This could be due to new shops opening up, as newer locations are more likely to have fewer techs at first. The uptick may also be thanks to several new programs designed to draw new techs to the industry.

SHOP LOCATIONS BY REGION

Online SOHDR_Shop Location Regions-Mobile

The Midwest is still the biggest market, with 28% of repair shops located there.

SERVICES REPAIR SHOPS PROVIDE TODAY

In-shop repair remained the top offering, with 75% of the shops surveyed providing it. Mobile repair was close behind—71% of our respondents offer this service.

HOW MUCH DO SHOPS CHARGE FOR DOT INSPECTIONS?

What shops charge for DOT inspections seems to depend on their markets. Just over half either make it free or charge up to $100, while a small percentage (just over 16%) charge up to $500. The average rate, however, is $132.38.

Performing DOTs should not be a courtesy item. It's important service providers get paid fairly for their [work] if they are going to invest in the people, tools, equipment, and technology to be at the top of their game. I can't stress how important it is, and will be, that shops [charge properly] to fuel their business.

Don Doty VP Roadside Operations & Vendor Relations, FleetNet America, Inc.

DO SHOPS CHARGE FOR DIAGNOSIS?

Over 78.3% of repair shops charge for diagnostics, with the majority of them charging $250 or less. The average diagnostic charge, however, is $177. In addition, the remaining 21.7% don’t charge for the service at all.

LABOR RATE BY REGION

Shops have similar labor rates across all six regions surveyed. However, the Midwest has the lowest average, at $95.65, whereas Canada has the highest at $108.67.

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TOP THREE SHOP CHALLENGES

Hiring techs is the top challenge repair shops face today, with over half of all shops dealing with staffing troubles. Inefficiencies in repairs came in second, and problems with the supply chain led to our third-place finisher: sourcing parts. That said, shops are running into other issues like inventory management, communication, and managing records.

GREATEST TECHNICIAN CHALLENGES

The most difficult challenge surrounding technicians is finding them, as over 60% of shops report hiring remains a chore. Because of this, shops may end up hiring less experienced techs, leading to the second challenge: a lack of skills and need for training.

ALL REGIONAL REVENUE

The data shows significant decreases in revenue from 2019 to 2020, especially during April and May of 2020—the first couple of months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The second half of 2020 saw things picking back up, and that continued through 2021. In all, 2021 saw an average year-over-year (YoY) growth of 18.47%, significantly higher than the 0.41% we saw in 2020.

HOW MANY SHOPS ARE PURCHASING PARTS FROM OUTSIDE THEIR NORMAL SUPPLIERS?

Forty-five percent of shops are frequently or very frequently turning to additional suppliers to find the parts they need. We believe this is due to the parts shortage that continues to run rampant in the industry. Online SOHDR_Outside VendorsB

HOW MANY SHOPS ARE FACING A DISRUPTION DUE TO THE PARTS SHORTAGE?

The parts shortage has been a problem for everyone in the industry. We found that 82% of shops reported at least some disruption (respondants who indicated 3 or above) from the shortage, while 17% reported extreme disruptions. Only 4% reported no disruption at all. Online SOHDR_Distruption

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HOW LONG DID IT TAKE SHOPS TO GET PARTS IN 2021?

About 84% of the shops surveyed faced increased delays caused by the global parts shortage. In fact, 37% of that number saw severely increased delays, which surely impacted their customers.

PERFORMING INVENTORY COUNTS

About half the shops we surveyed perform at least one inventory count per month. That’s excellent news, but 17% of shops aren’t doing inventory counts at all. That leaves about 34% of shops that fall right in the middle, performing inventory counts annually or quarterly.

AVERAGE PARTS MARKUP

A shop lives or dies based on how they handle parts.

Irvin Bowman Coach, Truck Shop Network

Shops are keeping a healthy markup across regions, with higher markups coming from the Southeast and West Coasts. Canada appears to have slightly lower markups, but it’s still very close to the pack.

AVERAGE PARTS MARKUP

AVERAGE PARTS MARGIN

Margin follows a similar pattern: the West and Southeast lead the way, but overall, each region has a healthy average margin.

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ARE YOU ACTIVELY MANAGING CORES?

Seventy-six percent of repair shops are managing cores, which is money back in the shop’s accounts. Granted, some operations (14.5%) are only managing them occasionally, but that’s better than the 9.5% who aren’t touching them at all.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR TECH EFFICIENCY IS?

Over 68% of shops can confidently say they know how efficient their techs are. Still, that leaves about 31% of shops either not knowing or being uncertain of their techs’ efficiency—and possibly losing money because of it. Online SOHDR_Tech Efficiency 1B

DO YOUR TECHS KNOW THEIR EFFICIENCY?

Just under 60% of techs know their own efficiency—which means they can improve on it and increase revenue. That means 40% don’t know or aren’t sure. This generally matches the data we received from shops that were similarly unsure. Online SOHDR_Tech Efficiency 2

DO YOUR TECHS KNOW EACH OTHERS’ EFFICIENCY?

The industry is split on whether techs should know each others’ efficiency; some believe it creates healthy rivalry, while others feel it can lead to unnecessary competition. Our findings were nearly straight down the middle: 42% of techs knew how efficient their coworkers were, while 41% did not.

AVERAGE TECHNICIAN HOURLY RATES

When it comes to shops that pay their techs by the hour, the Southeast led the charge on hourly rates, paying their techs an average of $31.61. The Western region was right behind them, with wages averaging $30.42 per hour. The four other regions all fell around $25 per hour.

HOW MUCH DID YOU INCREASE THE HOURLY WAGES OF YOUR TECHS IN 2021?

More than 73% of shops provided a wage increase for their techs in 2021. In most cases, the increase was between $1-$25 an hour, though the average jump was $13.88.

HAS IT BEEN EASIER OR HARDER TO FIND TECHNICIANS IN THE LAST YEAR?

Almost 40% of shops said it was much more difficult to hire techs in 2021—only 1% thought it was easier!

A Special Thank You To Our Partners:

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