The vehicle maintenance and repair industries are experiencing a skilled labor shortage as technicians in the Baby Boomer demographic retire in greater numbers than those replacing them. The skilled labor shortage requires shops to pay more for skilled technicians, which translates into higher shop labor rates.
Higher fuel prices and maintenance costs, along with upward pressure on maintenance labor rates are a few of the factors increasing fleet operating costs.
Fleets are being impacted by a variety of inflationary pressures ranging from higher acquisition prices due to the proliferation of onboard safety equipment, to increased material costs pushing up pricing on parts, upfits, and replacement tires.
The robust economy is creating record numbers of new jobs and a subsequent labor shortage that is being exacerbated by the large wave of Baby Boomer retirements, but some see uncertainty of future market conditions.
Upward cost pressures on replacement tires have emerged in 2018, due to higher cost for the commodities used to manufacture tires and the trend to larger diameter 17- to 18-inch wheels, which are more expensive to replace.
On average, PM costs have increased due to higher labor rates, expansion of models requiring synthetic motor oil, and more expensive cartridge oil filters. One offset is that longer lasting synthetics have extended oil-drain intervals.
Citing the higher cost of crude oil, many major manufacturers of finished lubricant products increased prices from 5% to 8% in CY-2018. Plus, each model-year, more OEMs require the use of more expensive synthetic motor oils.
Despite high build quality, vehicle maintenance costs are trending up due to increased advanced technology content, skilled labor shortages, higher tire prices, and more engines requiring synthetic oils and high-capacity oil pans.
Vincentric has begun offering more in-depth maintenance data as part of its automotive cost-of-ownership database covering more than 45,000 vehicles, the Bingham Farms, Mich.-based data provider has announced.
Vehicles equipped with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) can add on average an extra $3,000 to the repair bill after a crash due to pricey sensors and their calibration requirements, according to new research from AAA.