Automotive Services, Except Repair and Carwashes

Examples of miscellaneous automotive service providers include emissions testing centers, inspection services, do-it-yourself garages, diagnostic centers, lubricating and oil change shops, emergency road services, rust proofers, window tinting shops, and towing services. According to a 2009 Dun & Bradstreet report, the industry had 36,677 establishments that generated $8.35 billion and employed 184,841. Despite the large presence of several oil change chains, the industry is highly fragmented and dominated by small, family-run businesses. Over 70 percent of firms had fewer than five employees, and 97 percent of firms had fewer than 25 employees. The largest segments of the industry were towing services, which accounted for nearly 50 percent of industry revenues, automotive maintenance services (23 percent of revenues), and lubrication services (12 percent of revenues). The industry is served by the Automotive Oil Change Association (AOCA), a non-profit trade organization with more than 1,200 members representing over 3,000 auto maintenance centers throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The towing sector is served by the Towing and Recovery Association of America, Inc., which was founded in Kansas City in 1979.

The automotive services industry grew out of America's love affair with the automobile. From just 2.2 million in 1920, annual automobile production rocketed to more than 8 million by 1950. As auto output fluctuated around 8 million annually throughout the mid-1900s, the automotive services industry ballooned. Significantly, federal safety and emissions regulations that were developed in the mid-1960s helped bolster demand. By the late 2000s, there were over 250 million cars registered in the United States. The median age of vehicles in use increased from 6.5 years in 1990 to 9.4 years in 2008. Americans routinely drove automobiles over 1 trillion miles annually in the late 2000s, and periodic maintenance such as oil changes were increasingly recommended at more frequent intervals.

Several trends were affecting this industry in the late 2000s. A deep recession that began in early 2008 led to a very depressed new car market as consumers held on to their existing cars to save money. With more older cars on the road, more consumers were in need of basic maintenance and repair to keep their vehicles running. However, this trend was balanced by the fact that while consumers were willing to spend money on necessary repairs, they were more commonly avoiding or putting off maintenance services to save money. In addition, the sagging economy meant that Americans had less disposable income and, as a result, drove less. In fact, the number of miles driven in the United States dropped in both 2007 and 2008--the first declines since 1980. Fewer miles translated into fewer oil changes and less maintenance needed.

Industry leaders in 2009 included Jiffy Lube International, Inc., of Houston, Texas, a subsidiary of the Shell Oil Company, operating more than 2,000 service centers in the United States and Canada, and Valvoline Instant Oil Change, a division of the Valvoline Company, operating more than 800 oil change centers in 39 states. Pep Boys, based in Philadelphia, operates 560 stores in 35 states. The locations have added do-it-for-me services to their core do-it-yourself parts and accessories inventory. Work in this industry is also performed by 45,000 gas stations, over 22,000 car dealerships, and branches of chain stores and warehouse clubs with automobile service centers.