Over the past 12 months car audio manufacturers saw their sales grow 22 percent in the category of Sound Systems and Audio Accessories, according to new SEMA research.
Sales also rose 18 percent in Mobile TV and Video and 18 percent in Navigation. Alarms and Security sales rose 17 percent.
The above is growth for suppliers but SEMA also tracked growth for retailers. For those who sell car audio, retail sales over the past 12 months grew by 17 percent in Sound Systems and Audio Accessories, but only 2 percent in Mobile TV and Video and 2 percent in Navigation. Alarms and Security product sales, however, rose by 13 percent based on research in March and April, said SEMA.
Shortages
SEMA found that most specialty equipment industry members expect supply issues to continue into 2023 and possibly into the third quarter of that year or later. (New shortage predictions from Intel say the shortage might continue until 2024).
Among the actions suppliers are taking to address shortages are moving more production to the US (20 percent of manufacturers surveyed) as shown below:
Vehicle sales are expected to exceed 2021 levels this year but still not reach pre-pandemic levels, due to shortages, until 2024:
Economy
Economic strengths: 6.5 million jobs have been added by employers in the last 12 months and unemployment is down to 3.6 percent.
Gas prices are up 40 percent (but 80 percent of Americans still plan on taking a road trip this summer, said SEMA).
As in car audio, much of the specialty equipment industry is having difficulty finding employees. Seventy percent of manufacturers cited problems filling positions in the past year.
See the full “State of the Industry: Spring 2022” report at SEMA.org/marketresearch
Results in this report are based on a survey in March/April of 1,554 members of the specialty equipment industry, with a focus on manufacturers, distributors, retailers and installers.
Source: https://www.ceoutlook.com/2022/05/12/car-audio-growth-figures-sema/
