Automotive Aftermarket
At a time when the automotive aftermarket economy—like everything else—is on shaky ground, tire manufacturers feel as if their road may be a little smoother than others. The tire sector is predicted to fare pretty well, according to recent 2023 market analysis from Tire Review magazine. Federal Reserve data shows U.S. industrial production of tires climbed 3.5 points in August 2022 from a month earlier, and was also up 4.2% over August 2021 levels. This increase in domestic tire production volume indicates that supply chains are being freed from historic bottlenecks, giving manufacturers an opportunity to supply tires for inventory, the analysis shows. Three key automotive indications fuel this positive outlook for the tire sector: 1. Gas prices are coming down. The four-week moving average of gas prices was down to $3.71 a gallon at the end of September 2022, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. While still up 17% from the same time last year, the trend is a favorable one. 2. Truck tonnage is increasing. The Truck Tonnage Index, which measures the gross tonnage of freight transported by truckers in the United States for a given month, was up sharply in June 2022, with a one-month gain of 2.9%, and a year- over-year change up 8%, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation and the American Trucking Associations. These kinds of strong increases in trucking activity help to support future heavy-duty tire sales and service. 3. Retail sales have remained strong. Retail sales at auto parts, accessories, and tire stores remained strong in July, according to Census Bureaus data. Sales were up 0.3% from the month earlier, and up a more substantial 11.1% compared to July 2021. TIRE MARKET KEEPS ROLLING
UNLOCKING EFFICIENCY FOR RECONDITIONED VEHICLE DEALERS A picture may be worth 1,000 words, but photos may also help sell 1,000 vehicles. In today’s fast-paced market, auto dealers selling reconditioned vehicles need to load photos on their website’s vehicle detail pages as quickly as possible, so they can boost clicks and leads. Streamlining photography and merchandising of vehicles is crucial for dealers. A new partnership helps dealers unlock efficiencies in this area. Dealer Image Pro, a professional photo, video, and interactive software provider for automotive dealerships, recently integrated its Photo Assistant and Autoport software with reconditioning workflow software from Rapid Recon to improve time to market for reconditioned vehicles. With the Rapid Recon status of their used vehicles displayed within the Photo Assistant and Autoport inventory dashboard, dealership sales teams can quickly identify the stage of the reconditioning process for a specific vehicle— and whether it is ready to be photographed. Once photos are ready, Dealer Image Pro provides inventory photo feeds directly to Rapid Recon, which makes it easier for dealership staff to verify that the photos have been published on the website.
12 Inbound Logistics • November 2022
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