Canada’s collision repair sector posted modest operational gains in April even as repair-order values declined, according to the latest Pulse of the Industry report from Collision Repair Magazine and AutoHouse Technologies.
The report, based on more than 60,000 monthly repair orders across Canada, found average cycle time declined to 13.8 days, down a percent from the prior three-month average. Top 10% performers averaged 6.0 days.
"Top-performing collision repairers -- the top 10% -- are separating themselves through disciplined operational controls that create consistency across intake, WIP, repair planning and production flow, not simply by increasing car count or working longer hours," said Mike Gilliland, president and Founder of AutoHouse Technologies.
"While average operators react to volume pressure, leading repairers are using operational visibility and control to stabilize throughput, reduce variability and protect profitability as repair complexity continues to rise."
Touch time — measured as labour hours produced per repair, per day — increased to 2.5 hours, up 2.7% from the prior three-month average. Top-performing shops averaged 4.7 hours, up 5.7%.
The industry’s work-in-progress ratio fell to 11.6:1, down 9.8% from the prior three-month average.
The report identified WIP ratio as a lead indicator of performance, efficiency and profitability, noting top-performing repairers typically maintain between 7.5 and 11.0 days of repair inventory.
Financial indicators declined during the month.
Average insurer-paid repair order sale fell $11 compared to the prior six-month average and declined $100 month-over-month.
Customer-pay repair order sale dropped $76 compared to the prior six-month average and fell $93 from the previous month.
Pulse of the Industry is produced through a partnership between Collision Repair Magazine and AutoHouse Technologies. The organizations said all data is normalized and filtered using variance thresholds to remove anomalies and maintain data integrity.
