Quick Overview

As last year’s $244 billion dollar auto aftermarket shows, Americans not only love their cars, they are obsessed with modifying, enhancing and accessorizing their vehicles. Once upon a time, tuck and roll upholstery, extra chrome and flames painted along the side of your car marked you as serious auto enthusiast. In recent years the options for American car owners to express themselves have expanded beyond mere paint and metal: now you can port around an espresso machine, play your MP3's, watch DVDs and be guided by an on board GPS system that tells you where to turn.

The recent popularity of shows like MTV’s “Pimp My Ride,” or TLC’s “Overhaulin,” demonstrates that accessorizing one’s car has become high entertainment. However, these shows are not indicative of the kinds of upgrading and accessorizing that most American consumers are performing on their cars and trucks. Demographics show that the average auto aftermarket customer is over 50 years old, and leans towards more conservative upgrades such as better audio/video systems, sunroofs and custom wheels.

One of the most significant boosts to the general auto aftermarket industry’s growth is the huge increase in the light truck aftermarket. According to the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, over the past 10 years, the truck/SUV aftermarket has doubled to $74 billion.

One issue that could impact the retail auto aftermarket industry is higher oil prices. If oil prices continue to increase, the aftermarket industry will be impacted. One opportunity for the aftermarket industry is to concentrate on products that help improve gas mileage and performance, although not significantly enough to offset the potential negative impact.

Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3102/is_12_123/ai_n8586239

Auto accessories still in the fast lane - Auto Update
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FNP/is_9_42/ai_101656476

Auto Aftermarket Says 'Pimp My Sales'
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3816/is_10_21/ai_n6174193

- Carolyn Ellis

Industry Snapshot: Automotive Aftermarket

With 225,882,103 vehicles operating in the United States during 2003 and an average annual growth rate of 2% the Aftermarket Auto Accessory industry has a large potential customer base.

Take a look at our 2004 full industry report on the Automotive Aftermarket (PDF Format). If you are interested in other industry snapshots, visit our SBDC Business Advisors Toolkit

Links of Interest

Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association
Mobile Enhancement Retailers Association
Specialty Equipment Market Association

Did You Know?

Who Makes $7,600 a Month?

You might try out the new website from the Census Bureau at http://lehd.dsd.census.gov to find out! Partnerships forged between certain state agencies and the Bureau has resulted in a publically accessible website to query the local workforce according many variables. Three significant parameters that might be of interest are age, location and salary. Searching under “top industries” an individual can select the state, local area, age and sex to see, for example, the “top 10 industries ranked on the greatest average monthly earnings for new hires”. In San Antonio, the top ranking industry is broadcasting ($7,662) followed by funds, trusts, and other financial vehicles ($7,620). Those professionals are men and women aged 45-54 years.

- Judith Johnson

Are You Paying Attention to
Demographic Trends?

When using race/ethnicity as your target population there is something you must take into consideration in order to avoid double-counts.

The U.S. Bureau of the Census modified the questions regarding race and ethnicity in the year 2000 in order to better deal with the race/ethnicity issue of the Latino/Hispanic population. Latino or Hispanic is not a race, it is an ethnicity. Thus, one must acknowledge that there are Latinos/Hispanics of all races (i.e. White Argentineans, Black Dominicans, Asian Peruvians, etc.). Thus, the most recommended U.S. Census 2000 table (in American FactFinder) to utilize when dealing with ethnic/racial target population is the Hispanic or Latino By Race, even for the other populations other than Hispanic or Latino.

The reason to recommend this table is because here you find the race groups isolated from the Hispanic category (i.e. White Alone, Not Hispanic or Latino). Therefore, by using the “Alone, Not Hispanic or Latino” variables, one avoids the double-counts that were present in the previous censuses.

- Eric Lomeli

See also our website for information on demographics:
http://sbdcnet.org/SBIC/demographics.php

SBDCNet Team

Gloria Allen
Carolyn Ellis
Peter Morales
Armida Hernandez
Cammie Diaz

Guillermo Barreto-Vega
Perry Byers
Linda Hernandez
Jane Nolasco

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