Fullbay Report: Heavy-Duty Repair Shops Cautiously Optimistic
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Heavy-duty repair shop leaders said last year marked an improvement over 2023, but some are looking ahead with caution as economic uncertainty grips the nation.
That was the assessment of the fifth annual “State of Heavy-Duty Repair Report” compiled by service management platform .
Released during a March 9 press event at American Trucking Associations’ , the report found that 56% of respondents said 2024 was significantly or slightly better than 2023, with only 20% saying it was worse.
Fullbay CEO Patrick McKittrick noted that while a majority of shops were upbeat after last year, the new presidential administration’s trade policies are creating uncertainty.
“That [56% number] was encouraging to me, especially considering the timing and leading up to an election where there was a lot of uncertainty. We saw people actually pleased with the way their business looked,” he said. “The tariffs have sort of thrown a curve ball into everybody … with the change in administration, it’s always going to be a little trepidation here and there.”
McKittrick added that the industry is in a “wait-and-see” period.
“I hope things straighten out. But so far, I’ve talked to quite a few people, and they’ve all been told, ‘Hold on, prices are going to go up,’” he said. “So we’ll see what happens.”
The study noted that while labor rates increased by about $10 per hour over the past couple of years, many shops are hesitant to raise rates due to competition on price.
“[Shop owners] are not all confident enough to raise their rates. They must compete on price very often, and ultimately over the past two years inflation has been a big deal,” McKittrick said. “They’re having to pay the technicians more, which means they have every right to charge more for those technicians now.”
Mike Freeze discusses the technician shortage with Amanda Schuier of Jetco Delivery and the Technology & Maintenance Council. Tune in above or by going to .
He added, “While the industry has done a nice job of adjusting their rates, I think they have a lot of money on the table.”
McKittrick suggested that lack of confidence to boost rates stems from more than 40% of shops acknowledging that they don’t have a formal budget or financial plan for the year, something he sees as an opportunity for improvement.
“Evaluating your labor rate once a year is not enough,” McKittrick said. “Interest rates don’t change once per year. The tariffs don’t come and go once per year. If you’re not keeping up with real-time integration, you’re going to miss out.”
The survey found that only about one-third of shops use the TMC Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards coding system, which can help improve communication with fleet customers. It noted, however, that adoption is gradually increasing as more fleets require its use.
McKittrick noted that repair shops reported a 14.3% increase in their total number of employees. The report also found that 39% of shops said staffing was “harder” or “much harder,” while 16% said it was “easier” or “much easier.”
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Successful shops, McKittrick said, are offering benefits like paid time off, health insurance, bonuses and a positive work culture to attract and retain technicians.
The report also noted that while shops are increasingly interested in using artificial intelligence for predictive maintenance and inventory management, most are still in the early stages of understanding how to leverage the technology.
The report also found that deceptive practices such as credit card fraud and customers disputing legitimate charges have become more prevalent, requiring shops to be vigilant.
The study was conducted in conjunction with the council and highlighted the report’s findings from a survey of more than 950 qualified responses from independent repair shops and data from more than 3,500 shops on the Fullbay platform. TMC is part of ATA.
