News

Registration and lodging reservations are now open for SEMA Spring Expo and SEMA OFFROAD, scheduled for February 8–9 in Indianapolis. Sponsored by the Light-Truck Accessory Alliance (LTAA) and Professional Restylers Organization (PRO), the trade-only SEMA Spring Expo and SEMA OFFROAD events feature a special emphasis on trucks and SUVs. Exhibitors will display a variety of products and services covering accessories, restyling, wheels and tires, and mobile electronics.

Automotive Restoration Market Organization (ARMO)

For the latest council news, read the ARMO column in SEMA Member News by clicking here.

ARMO presented six council awards during the ARMO Industry Awards Reception at the 2007 SEMA Show. The awards and winners are:

Dealer Services International (DSI), a division of Transamerican Auto Parts LLC, announced that Anne Johnson joined the company as the sales representative for a Northern California territory. Johnson, former co-owner of California Truck Works Inc., will be responsible for the placement of accessorized vehicles at local car dealerships for customer purchase.

Filler for eNews

NEWS NUGGETS

TESTING, TESTING, TESTING: The drivers of the POWERade Series will get their chances to officially test their cars at the three sessions available beginning in January. The first session will be January 18–20, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway followed by a session in Phoenix at Firebird International Raceway, January 25–27. The testing sessions will wrap-up in Las Vegas for the Last Chance Test Session and the Pontiac Pro Stock Showdown February 1–3.

Dates and locations for several upcoming SEMA-sponsored shows and activities have been announced. Details are:

SEMA-member companies have posted several new listings for job opportunities at www.sema.org/classifieds. Working for a SEMA-member company has many advantages. In addition to working for a company that supports and contributes to the success of the overall industry, being employed by a SEMA-member company enable the employee to participate in webinars, access free market research, join SEMA committees and more. The newest classified listings posted under Positions Available include:

SEMA eNews highlights the websites of SEMA-member companies through the Hot Links to Cool Sites section each week. SEMA members: To be included in Hot Links to Cool Sites, e-mail your company name and website to eNews@sema.org. Note: make sure to include “Hot Links” in the subject line of the e-mail.

In October, the SEMA Performance Parts and Accessories Demand Index (PADI) lost three points, or 4.6%, going from 94 in August to 72—after dropping to 75 in September—showing that the number of consumers who plan to make specialty-equipment purchases has declined from the previous month. Overall however, the SEMA PADI showed strong increases from April to August.
 

Specialty/performance tires often follow the custom wheel market, for when a consumer decides to upgrade the wheels on his or her vehicle, they typically opt to upgrade tires simultaneously. Specialty/performance tires generated an impressive $4.4 billion—12% of the specialty-equipment market's total retail sales—in 2006, according to SEMA research (performance tires are defined as S-rated or higher, 70-series or lower, bad weather-related, etc).

In the last decade, sales of specialty/performance tires nearly doubled, climbing from $2.36 billion in 1996.