DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/743cvk/the_future_of_the) has announced the addition of the "The Future of the UK Car Body Repair Market 2012-2017" report to their offering.

“The Future of the UK Car Body Repair Market 2012-2017”

Car body repairs require a high degree of expertise and expensive specialist equipment. So bodyshops are very capital-intensive businesses, take up a lot of space and are hardly popular with the authorities from local planning officers to health and safety inspectors. Thus it is no exaggeration to say that running a bodyshops is far from easy.

To add to the difficulties faced by bodyshop owners, anecdotal evidence abounds of a falling market, and our latest research confirms this is the case. The total number of repairs is down by 21%, 2002/2011, and market value in real terms (accounting for inflation) is down a stonking 29% over the same period, the latter because the price of an average job is down in addition to a fall in job numbers.

There are many reasons for these large falls in the car body repair market, but one of the most important has been the almost continuous fall in average annual mileage of cars in the UK. If mileage falls, then there is less exposure to the possibility of an accident and the chart above illustrates this clearly. It shows the claims rate as reported by the Association of British Insurers plotted against average annual mileage from the Department for Transport - both indexed to 1996 equal to 100'. The claims rate is defined as the percentage of cars insured making a claim, and this has fallen from 19.4% in 2000 to 13.9% in 2011. There are some differences in the terms of reference for these measures, but nothing which affects the obvious fact that less miles means less claims.

The recession, too, has hit bodyshops hard. Not only have business conditions affected cash flow and profitability, but other sources of work have been affected. The squeeze on motorists' pockets means less retail work, and trade work - essentially refurbishment of used cars - diminished as used car sales fell. The overall dearth of profitable work has seen many bodyshop closures and an awful lot of right-sizing. The number of primary bodyshops fell by 35% between 2002 and 2011. But the exit of so many from the business has at least benefited those still standing. The outlook for bodyshops is highly dependent on the UK economy picking up once again bringing a lift in new and used car sales, and motorists with spare cash for repairs.

This report contains complete, in-depth coverage of the structure, volume and dynamics of the car body repair market in the UK. It provides demand and supply-side data from 2002 to date and forecasts trends to 2017, with detailed analysis and commentary.

This edition details the tough predicament of operators in a body repair sector beset by the results of a double-dip recession on consumer expenditure; a decline in the key 4-year car parc from its 2004/5 peak; and a decline in vital insurer-paid repair demand due to factors including drivers' reducing average mileages. As all previous editions in this series, 'The Future of the UK Car Body Repair Market 2012-2017' is the most comprehensive, detailed and statistically informative survey of this market available, providing a solid basis for strategic business planning and risk assessment for many of the market's major players.

Key Topics Covered

1 Preface

2 Executive Summary

3 Market Background

4 Market Size and Trends

5 Accident and Repair Rates

6 Repairs by Vehicle Make

7 Bodyshop Supply Structure

8 Motor Insurance Trends

9 Bodyshop Information Technology

10 Strategic Outlook and Forecasts

11 Appendix

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/743cvk/the_future_of_the.

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