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Letter to the Editor

This article originally appeared in the December 2010 Issue of INSIGHT

’Tis the Season

I’m feeling a bit more jolly than I had expected in this last month of the year. Lake effect snow has blown into town here, and tooling around on my tractor plowing snow into huge piles has me humming a few wintery tunes. Even better - I am letting out a few “Ho Ho Hos” as I gaze at our Collision Repair Industry related stocks chart. Yes, I’m checking it twice, and I only see three naughty stocks - with postings less than their respective January marks.

Of the three lagging stocks, Akzo Nobel has continued to languish on Wall Street. The company’s per share stock price is down almost 11 percent YTD, to just under $60. Our other refinish paint manufacturers are definitely ending year 2010 in a rosy glow. DuPont is at the head of the pack, with a share of stock selling for $46.40, a huge 36 percent jump from its January 1 spot. PPG, at a hair over $77 per share this month, has an almost 30 percent increase YTD. Sherwin-Williams and Valspar have also posted nice per share prices.

Solera Holdings is happy at the Dow this month. The company has posted a per share stock price of $49.60, $5 above its last month’s price, and over 36 percent over its New Year’s mark.

Our national car dealership groups have really turned things around during this past month. AutoNation and CarMax both jumpstarted their engines, it seems. Both consolidators posted share prices over 35 percent above their January prices. Sonic Automotive’s per share price rose about $2 during this past month, an increase of nearly 17 percent YTD.

The Penske Automotive Group recovered almost to its January per share price of $15.22. Penske was down less than one percent YTD.

All of our industry-related insurers have had a positive month, with Progressive in particular putting in a strong performance at the Stock Exchange. Our neighbor here in Cleveland posted a per share price of $21.17, nearly 18 percent above its January mark of $17.99.

The Boyd Group has had a very nice year at the Toronto Stock Exchange. At $7 per share, our Canada-based collision repair facility consolidator has shown almost 22 percent improvement YTD. It has been a banner year for the company, with its acquisition of True2Form, and continued growth in the U.S.

A hopeful indication that the nation is pulling slowly out of recession is the very nice posting for the Parts & Equipment Index this month. At 242, the index is up almost 40 percent over its dismal January mark.

-Charles Baker-

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