Collision study finds room for optimism on labour shortage

A newly released collision repair survey suggests the tech shortage in that industry could be “stabilizing” in the U.S. and Canada.

The study of 157 collision-related businesses, conducted by consulting firm Raymond James, dared to suggest the shortage of skilled trades could even be seen as “improving on the margin,” which is a way of saying it is becoming “less worse.”

Some 53 percent of respondents were collision repairers, 23 percent were paint distributors, and 7 percent were paint manufacturers. Thirteen percent of all the companies came from Canada.

“While labor/technician shortages remain a key pain point for the industry, our survey data suggests this issue could finally be stabilizing—or perhaps even improving on the margin (becoming ‘less worse’),” analyst Steve Hansen wrote.

The company found that concerns over labour shortages have improved steadily over the past couple of years.

The report found improved pay and benefits are among the most popular strategies for addressing the shortage.

“From a mitigation standpoint, while respondents continue to deploy an array of strategies to address this issue, we note that ‘Better Pay’ and ‘Career Planning’ continue to be the preferred mitigation strategies, although both have been fading in recent quarters, while ‘Enhanced Benefits’ has remains consistent for several periods,” Hansen wrote.