The latest iteration of Mitchell’s Industry Trends Report (ITR) begins with an examination of the impact of the Japanese tsunami on vehicle parts pricing. Greg Horn, ITR editor-in-chief and Mitchell’s vice president of industry relations, alludes to stories of salvage yards hoarding parts, and asks some questions that have weighed heavily on the minds of all involved in the collision parts industry—from repair shops to insurers—since the disaster.

Although many presumed that aftermarket parts usage would increase, and that OEM components would be increasingly difficult to come by, Horn quickly dispels these notions in the opening feature of the 4Q publication. He then leverages the Mitchell Collision Parts Price Index (MCPPI)—a metric similar to the Consumer Price Index (CPI)—to identify trends in parts prices versus inflation and assess the impact of the tsunami on parts selection behavior.

“The tsunami in Japan was incredibly tragic and affected so many,” says Horn. “After having a chance to absorb the dramatic impact on their nation, we wanted to see how it would affect the collision repair community. Our in-depth analysis using the MCPPI indicates the tsunami had little net impact on parts pricing. Isolating the Japanese vehicle parts index and breaking out the subset of Japanese make by part type shows that the Japanese vehicle index mirrors broader market trends. In the aggregate, parts prices increased, even in a year where inflation has slowed to the lowest rate since we began measuring the index.

“OEM-indexed parts decreased in price, while aftermarket and remanufactured parts increased slightly, he adds. “Spot shortages and hoarding may have occurred immediately after the tragic events in the spring but had little material impact on Japanese vehicle parts prices.”

Mitchell created the MCPPI specifically for the collision repair industry and designed it to analyze and track parts price changes using the data for the top 20 most replaced collision parts.

Mitchell used the most up-to-date MCPPI data to examine the most frequently replaced collision parts. The company contrasted that with a subset of Japanese-only vehicle parts  to reveal the true impact of the tragic tsunami this past spring on Japanese vehicle parts pricing, including whether costs increased as a result of shortages.

“Delving into insurance claims data helps the P&C and collision repair industries assess marketplace conditions and adjust accordingly, which is critical since parts comprise approximately 42 percent of average repairable estimate dollars and directly impact estimate severity,” Horn explains. "Being aware of the impact of significant events and being armed with the latest collision repair information and analysis helps our clients increase customer satisfaction, thus improving their business performance.”