What's hot
Whether it's because of the use of offshore replacement parts, vehicle design problems or misdiagnoses in the service bay, this month's three snapshots of national demand for replacement parts are dominated by Ford and General Motors applications. In fact, there's nary an import to be found in the top 10 of any of this month's categories — brake rotors, starter motors and ABS wheel sensors. This analysis was developed using the Activant® Vista® market intelligence solution.It's no secret that inexpensive parts from offshore manufacturers have revolutionized the brake rotor category. Yet, many technicians are quick to blame offshore rotors when demand rises for certain vehicle applications. "You've got a lot of technicians who are trying to help customers save money by using offshore parts," explains one shop owner. "But the cheaper rotors come with a lot of risks — brake squeal, vibration and other problems — that can cause comebacks on many models. That might explain why some challenging applications are seeing higher replacement rates."
An aftermarket brake systems manufacturer told a different story, however. In the case of the 2002 Ford Explorer, which ranked No. 1 in the rotor category in June 2008 and June 2007, "the problem often isn't the rotors, but the pads," he says. "In many cases, the OE pads aren't aggressive enough to keep the rotors clean. Eventually you'll get a band of rust that causes the rotors to 'dish.'" The same failure mode is common in the 2000 and 2003 Chevrolet Silverado models, which rank fourth and sixth overall this month, he adds.
Misdiagnosis is the primary problem in the starter category, where a "no-start" condition is more likely to be caused by voltage drop or another wiring issue than a faulty starter motor. (Interestingly, the top 10 starter applications nationally are dominated by Chevrolet and Ford models, while in the West they are all imports.)
"The colder the temperatures and more corrosive the environment, the more likely you are to have a lot of demand for replacement starters, whether the starter is actually at fault or not," adds one manufacturing representative. "In the Midwest and Northeast, you've got temperature-related voltage drop, reduced battery capacity and corroded wires, all of which might cause you to think the starter has burned out."
What's not
All three of the fastest-declining brake rotor applications in Activant's national snapshots are Ford models. "That's consistent with what we see in the top 10 applications — you're watching a few older applications drop after having reached their peak. Next year you'll see the 2002 Explorer and 2004 F-150 start to drop, too," a manufacturing executive explains.In the starter category, Ford's 1990 F-100-350 pickup dropped out of the top 10, to 19th overall, in June. The 1992 F-100-350 also declined, from eighth to 10th place overall, as did the '93 model (fifth to sixth) compared to June 2007 results.
In each case, the data reflects a decline in popularity as the vehicle exits its prime repair cycle, according to the starter manufacturer. The 1995 Ford Windstar would seem to be exhibiting the same trend in the ABS sensor category, dropping six positions to 15th place overall in national data.
METHODOLOGY: The parts demand data captured through the Activant Vista solution is processed and aggregated on a daily basis through Activant's unique statistical methodology. Collected information includes eCatalog lookups, product availability and sales transactions by vehicle and SKU. For a complete analysis of these three categories, visit www.search-autoparts.com.
Rod Bayless is the product director for Activant Solutions, Inc. For additional information regarding Activant Vista market data, write to [email protected]. Activant is a leading innovator and the industry standard for information and supply chain technology in the automotive aftermarket.
