CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Special Questions:Education and Technical Training in the

Aftermarket

An overwhelming majority of respondents, 89%, indicated a need for increased technical training for service technicians in

the automotive aftermarket

On average, 8.4% of marketing spend dollars is allocated to technical training in the industry

Majority of suppliers, 89%, delegate some portion of marketing spend on technical training; indicates how important of an issue this is for our industry

Majority of respondents, 62%, have seen an increase in their technical training budget over the past decade

Respondents estimated that, on average, budgets have increased 11%

“Person-to-person training”, “online resources” and “800 help desk” are the most common initiatives to increase education for

service technicians

One of the major shifts respondents reported in regards to technical training was increased use of technology

Detailed Results: Market Conditions

Sales performance continued to increase with 76% of respondents enjoying growth

Respondents are seeing steady increases over the past year

An overwhelmingly majority of “under car” respondents, 94%, indicated growth in sales in the first quarter of 2014

Respondents’ independent aftermarket sales grew on average by 5.8%, a significant increase from Q4

The average growth reported by respondents is the highest seen since 2012 Q4

“Under car” product segment experienced the greatest average sales growth at +6.5%

The colder winter was seen in the average growth rate of the “Cooling/HVAC” segment at only +1.1%

OES average growth rate increased to +2.8%Growth rate grew by 1 percentage point from 2013 Q4

Q4 pricing band has tightened with 18% increasing prices and only 7% reporting declines

Pricing environment appears to move cyclically throughout the year

Gross margin performance increased slightly in Q4Gross margin has remained balanced throughout 2013

Detailed Results:Outlook

Respondent’s outlook increased with majority, 63%, indicating optimism

For the past three quarters, there has been a steady increase in optimism among respondents

Majority, 54%, added to inventories in 2014 Q1Inventories saw a significant increase from the past quarter

Majority of respondents, 52%, added to production capacity in 2014 Q1

Capacity has been increasing since 2013 Q3

Hiring increased significantly with 69% indicating modest and substantive hiring from 2013 Q4

This is the largest increase since 2012

New orders remained steady from previous quarterOn average, new orders increased by 5.2%

Detailed Results:Issues

“Lack of pricing power,” “Extended terms” and “Aftermarket demand” remains top issues for aftermarket

suppliers

Weather dominated respondents concerns in early 2014, although mixed views were expressed

IMR Repair ShopSurvey

Shop sales increased from previous quarter

Channels purchased from in past 12 months

Appendix

Respondents’ product categories

What shifts are you seeing in how technical training and education in the aftermarket is being conducted? (1/2)

What shifts are you seeing in how technical training and education in the aftermarket is being conducted? (2/2)

What events or changes have most impacted your business or business conditions in the past three months? (1/2)

AASA Supplier Barometer methodology notes

Contact Information