The May issue of SEMA News magazine doubles as the annual SEMA Membership Directory, and SEMA encourages you to keep this copy on your desk throughout the year to use as your reference tool in locating SEMA-member companies.

The membership directory is also available online. The online membership directory is continually updated to include new SEMA members. In addition, the online version of the membership directory lists members’ staff personnel, and you can contact them via e-mail through your MySEMA account.

The Truck’n America Family Goes the Extra Mile to Service Clients

Truck’n America—headquartered in a 10,000-sq.-ft. facility in Waldorf, Maryland, with 25 employees and six locations in the Maryland and Virginia area—has been a family-run business for more than 40 years. The team is currently led by Chuck Morrison IV and his brother Dan.

Morrison’s father and grandfather were from Indiana, which was considered “truck-cap central” at the time. They brought truck caps down to Maryland and sold them out of a crab shack they rented in Waldorf.

Off Road Warehouse Offers It All for Racers, Enthusiasts and Hobbyists

Off Road Warehouse (ORW) has been in business for more than 43 years. Off-road enthusiast and desert racer Howard Hughes (no relation to the business magnate and aviator) founded the company when he tired of having to get parts through mail order and recognized that others who raced and off-roaded felt the same. He started with a small location in a suburb of San Diego, California, and eventually opened two more stores in the area.

Morris 4x4 Center Has Maintained a 30% Average Annual Growth Rate Since 2005

Morris 4x4 Center is a pure-play Jeep parts and accessories Internet retailer—which accounts for 98% of all sales—and is housed in a 32,000-sq.-ft. facility in Pompano Beach, Florida, with 70 employees. It started as a 6,500-sq.-ft. warehouse complex with six units. Every few years, the company expanded into another unit. In November of this year, Morris will move again, this time into a 60,000-sq.-ft. facility.

A Powersports Category Snapshot

SEMA research indicates that more than a third of automotive accessory enthusiasts are likely to own a powersports vehicle. That means the powersports market offers great crossover potential for aftermarket businesses catering to other specialty-equipment segments. So what’s one of the hottest trends in the powersports arena?

The SEMA-commissioned report notes that approximately 670,000 UTV models were sold from 2010 to 2012. This is consistent with other market analyses that have predicted continued healthy growth of the segment through 2015.

The SEMA Show may be well known for project vehicles and special builds, but amazing new products are the stars of the event. In fact, 60,000 buyers and 3,000 media from all over the world traveled to the Las Vegas Convention Center primarily because of the all the new products on display. Reporters were able to find products in specific categories of interest to their audiences, such as truck, SUV and off-road in the case of Truck Trend and Truckin’, or restoration and racing and performance for Modified magazine. No matter the category, reporters had access to hundreds of amazing new products.

After six years of back-and-forth and negotiations that spanned not only the U.S. Congress but also the U.S. military (the Marine Corps, to be precise), a compromise has been negotiated to keep 96,000 acres of land open to off-road enthusiasts in the Johnson Valley OHV area near Twentynine Palms, California.

SEMA and the SEMA Action Network (SAN) worked closely with a number of organizations related to the off-road community to support this provision, which keeps a large portion of the area open to off-road and outdoor enthusiasts while at the same time providing for the needs of the U.S. military. One of SAN’s initiatives is to look for practical solutions to off-road use questions to preserve the rights of the nation’s enthusiast communities. SEMA is gratified that, after six years, a win-win compromise could be enacted to the benefit of all parties involved.

Keeping an Eye on the Evolving Marketplace

Dozens of companies displayed tire, wheel and related products at the 2013 SEMA Show, providing concrete proof that the tire and wheel segments are among the most prolific within the automotive specialty-equipment industry. As always, however, evolution is constant, so SEMA News once again canvassed wheel and tire professionals for their insights into design, construction, marketing and sales trends as we enter the new year.

90+ Products to Be Unveiled at the 2013 SEMA Show

The SEMA Show is all about innovation and creativity. For a taste of what’s coming at the 2013 event, check out the more than 90 new products previewed here. During the Show, head to the upper level of South Hall for a look at the Ideas Alive: Featuring the New Products Showcase at the Las Vegas Convention Center on November 5–8, 2013.

Tips for Aftermarket Suppliers and Retailers Before Gearing Up for e-Commerce

The online retail market for automotive aftermarket parts industry and accessories continues to emerge as a tremendous growth opportunity for the aftermarket parts industry. While estimated sales volumes of the online parts industry vary, assessments range from $2 billion to $4 billion annually.

The “2013 SEMA Annual Market Report” found that 46.2% of consumers cited “chain auto parts stores” and “specialty parts stores” as their primary outlets for purchasing automotive parts and accessories. “Online retail” was the next highest at 25.6%, up 1.1% from 2012. Online retailers ranged from online auction sites and chain auto parts online stores to online-only retailers.