NDE to Train 200 Women as Automotive Mechanics

Sandra, who is the first female auto mechanic in Nigeria, remarked that “when you empower somebody, you are building a nation economically, socially and technologically,  and reducing crime and social vices.”

Right to Repair bill awaits Gov. Patrick's signature

Thanks to a last-minute compromise between the auto manufacturers and the Right to Repair Coalition, which gives dealerships proprietary control over warranty and recall work, Massachusetts is set to become the first state in the nation to essentially level the playing field between dealers and independent shops.

Finding stories on auto mechanics and repair shops

The last few years’ economy has been a mixed bag for auto repair shops and parts sellers.  On one hand, you have people holding on to their vehicles for longer than ever before; on the other hand, cash-strapped or nervous consumers have been doing the bare minimum to keep those cars on the road,  according to some industry reports.

With July car sales reports due out from automakers Wednesday, and Truecar.com’s forecast predicting the best July since 2007, a look at the businesses that serve car owners and how a glut of new cars affects them might be a fresh take on the vehicle sales story.

It’s a fairly pervasive sector that doesn’t hit the radar screen very often.  According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs for auto mechanics are expected to grow 17 percent between 2010 and 2020, about an average rate across all occupations.  About 723,000 people make their livings this way at an average wage of $35,000 a year.

And the Census Bureau abounds with information about the industry, though data is from the 2007 economic census, which of course doesn’t reflect recession results.  Still, it’s a starting point you can compare local presence with.  According to the bureau, some 81,000 establishments were engaged in general automotive repair and that’s in addition to 8,700 oil-change shops, transmission shops, gas stations that offer repair services, dealer service departments, motorcycle repair shops, tire dealers and more; check out this Census Bureau portal to a plethora of reports on each classification.

From  Wall Street Journal market data center on auto sales