Report: The Romans Group says Canada still more consolidated than US

Chicago, Illinois — November 28, 2016 — The Romans Group has released its 10th anniversary annual research report, A 2015 Profile of the Evolving North American Collision Repair Marketplace.

The report is the result of The Romans Group ongoing propriety research, analysis and collaboration with specific market experts and leadership throughout various auto physical damage segments.  It presents the complete results of The Romans Group work for 2015 in over 40 charts and graphs. The complete report is 47 pages and includes historical trends and a future view.  

“It has been quite a ride to watch what has transpired during the past decade, not only within the collision repair industry, but throughout the entire auto physical damage ecosystem,” says Vincent Romans, Principal of The Romans Group. “The consolidation, convergence and the structural changes we are witnessing within businesses, industry segments and markets, as we know them today, are now significant market factors to consider as part of our future planning. The high velocity and breadth and depth of change, coupled with the seemingly relentless introduction of innovative and disruptive products, services and business models, has required us to maintain an intense vigilance, to stay constantly informed, and to learn and understand as we consider, adopt, avoid, or leverage these transformative or disintermediating forces in order to remain relevant and competitive.”

According to the report, the Canadian market continues to consolidate with the franchise and banner segment now representing a significant 52 percent share of the CAD $2.9 billion private insurance auto market. When including the multi-location operators (MLOS) in Canada earning $10 million or less, the combined larger segment has a significant 71.8 percent of all the private passenger insurer and consumer-paid market. Under the All Repairers column in the chart below, we see four banner and franchise groups leading the Top 10 ranking followed by five independents and one dealer MLO.

“Although the US has seen an increase in consolidation within the multiple-location operator segments, Canada remains significantly more consolidated in the revenue generated by the combined franchise and banner and MLOs earning $10 million or less. In Canada, this combined segment group represents a 71.8 percent market share versus the combined 29.8 percent share for the same US segments,” says Romans.  

The combined 2015 revenue for the US and Canada $20 million or less MLO and franchise networks was $11.8 billion versus $10.8 billion in 2014. This represents 32.2 percent of total industry revenue for the US and Canada. Within the US market, the $20 million or less independent and dealer MLO segment is the largest, while the franchise and banner network MLOs remain the dominate business model in Canada.

US Collision Repair Industry

The Romans Group tracked and analyzed four US segments for the report:

•    Four top independent consolidators
•    ≥$20 million multiple-location independent and dealer operators, MLOs
•    Franchise and banner groups
•    And since 2012, the $10-$19 million MLOs  

Since 2006, the total revenue within these four segments has grown from $3.8 billion to $10.2 billion in market share, an 11.6 percent compounded annual growth rate.

The top ten ranking of all ≥$20M segment repairers including independents, dealers and franchisors can be seen in the following chart. Under the All Repairers column in the chart below, we see there are four independent consolidators, three independent franchise organizations and three dealer groups. Within this category, the four independent consolidators represent a significant 70 percent of the revenue processed in 2015.

“The four consolidators by themselves represent 11.3 percent of the total industry size for 2015,” says Romans. “We estimate that by 2020, they could almost double their market share and represent just over 20 percent of industry market size. When combined, the four segments we track and analyze could represent almost 45 percent of the collision repair industry by 2020.”

The following chart reflects the ranking of the Top 10 multiple-location operators and networks in the US for 2015. 

Both Canada and the US saw a continued downtrend for the number of collision repair facilities, although this downturn has slowed in recent years. In 2006 there were approximately 45,000 US collision repairers averaging $666,000 in revenue annually versus about 32,900 locations in 2015 averaging $1,036,474 in annual revenue. Canada’s repair location population has seen a reduction of more than 50 percent since 2012, with 4,900 locations averaging about $427,959 in 2015. The chart below shows Top 10 repair organizations by revenue earned across North America.

Watch for more results from the whitepaper in the next issue of Collision Repair magazine! To purchase the complete report, please contact Mary Jane Kurowski at 847-382-6208 or via email to maryjane@romans-group.com.