Refer a Shop

— 2022-2023 EDITION

THE STATE OF HEAVY-DUTY REPAIR REPORT.

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ABOUT OUR REPORT

This report provides unmatched insights, trends, and benchmarks regarding the maintenance of heavy-duty equipment. We define the heavy-duty repair category as independent and internal shops focused on maintaining Class 6-8 vehicles, agricultural machinery, emergency vehicles, construction equipment, heavy machinery, commercial fleets, and more.

OUR METHOD

We analyzed user data from more than 1,600 individuals from the commercial freight, logistics, and repair industries; we also sampled more than 500 shops from across North America, Australia, and New Zealand for real-world shop data.

AGE RANGE OF SHOP EMPLOYEES

We’ve talked a lot about the difficulty shops have in hiring younger techs, and this is reflected in our respondents—only 5% were 24 years old or younger. In contrast, the old guard is hanging in there: Nine percent of our respondents were 55 and up.

GENDER BREAKDOWN

While diesel repair is still a male-dominated industry, women are definitely catching up—they made up nearly a quarter of our respondents!

SHOP REVENUE IN 2022

2023 Online SOHDR Graph_Revenue by Location

2023 Online SOHDR Graph_Revenue by Location-Mobile

Shops saw an overall 19% revenue increase in 2022 compared to 2021. This created on average $12,150 more monthly revenue in 2022 compared to 2021.

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SHOP NET PROFIT IN 2022

We have good news on this end: More shops are paying attention to their net profits and losses than in recent years. In 2020, 20% of shops didn’t really know how they were doing; by 2022, that percentage dropped to 10%.

DID SHOPS RAISE THEIR LABOR RATES IN 2022?

Seventy-six percent of the shops we surveyed told us they raised their labor rates in 2022. The other 24% did not. A shop’s location may impact its labor rates: the Southwest had the highest overall increase ($13.10 average) with the Northeast right behind it ($12.20 average).

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

The parts shortage continues to be a problem. In 2021, 45% of shops reported venturing outside their usual supply vendors “frequently” or “very frequently.” In 2022, that number ticked up to 62%. 2023 Online SOHDR Graph_Outside Vendors

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

Shops are still running into snags as they try to source the parts they need. Still, they’re at least managing to get those parts—in 2021, 17% of shops reported the shortage left them in an “absolute mess,” but in 2022, that grim metric dropped to 14%. 2023 Online SOHDR Graph_Distruption

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HOW MUCH DID SHOPS INCREASE HOURLY WAGES FOR TECHS IN 2022?

We looked into the average hourly raises technicians received in 2022. Ready for some surprising facts? Shops that employ the lowest number of techs also handed out the smallest raises (averaging a $3.10 per hour increase). Meanwhile, the biggest shops—employing 41 or more techs—increased their hourly rates by an average of $8.20.

YEARS WITH CURRENT EMPLOYER AND YEARS IN INDUSTRY

Though the industry is still in the middle of a shortage, the techs that remain are often very loyal. We asked technicians how long they'd been with their employer; those who responded said they've been with their current employers for an average of six years, and have spent an average of 12 years in the industry overall.

AVERAGE INVOICE SIZE

2023 Online SOHDR Graph_Invoice Size_Mobile

$965 was the average invoice size for most shops. Shops located in Canada reported an average invoice of $1,242, while the Midwest reported $998 as their average invoice.

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ARE YOU ACTIVELY MANAGING CORES?

Eighty-three percent of shops are managing their cores. This is a great new high—up from 76% in 2021 and 76% in 2020. That does mean that the other 17% of this 2022’s respondents either didn’t manage cores or only managed them occasionally. That’s not a number we like to see, though it’s an improvement over 2021 (24%) and 2020 (24%).

TIME TO SOURCE AND PLACE AN ORDER FOR A NON-STOCKED PART

The majority of our respondents told us it takes between one and six hours to place an order for a part that isn’t in stock. Just 31% of the parts managers who responded said it took between one and three hours; 29% said it took between four and six hours. Meanwhile, 5% needed 13 to 24 hours to find and order a part.

HOW MUCH DID SHOPS CHARGE FOR DOT INSPECTIONS IN 2022?

A lot of shops are charging very little for DOT inspections, if they charge anything at all. On the other end of the spectrum, 19% charge between $251 and $500. 2023 Online SOHDR Graph_DOT

DID SHOPS CHARGE FOR DIAGNOSIS IN 2022?

A good chunk of shops (31%) don’t charge for diagnostic work at all.The remaining 69% charge anywhere from $1 to $1,000 for diagnosis. 2023 Online SOHDR Graph_Diagnosis

EFFICIENCY AND UTILIZATION

Average efficiency for commercial shops clocked in at 84%, while the average utilization rate came in at 66%.

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ALL EDITIONS:

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2022-2023 EDITION

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2021-2022 EDITION

Curious about past years' trends? Check out the 2021-2022 commercial vehicle repair industry report. DOWNLOAD NOW