Before COVID: The 2-Day Parts World
In 2019, repairs moved fast.
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A customer dropped off a damaged Camry on Monday.
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You ordered parts Tuesday.
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They arrived Thursday.
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The car was done by Friday.
Five days, start to finish.
This worked because the industry ran on just-in-time manufacturing. Automakers and suppliers kept very little inventory. Parts were made as needed and shipped quickly. For body shops, most parts arrived in 2–3 days.
Every step had to work:
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Factories made the parts
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Ships moved them across the ocean
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Trucks delivered them locally
The system was fast, but fragile. It had no backup plan.
When COVID Hit, Everything Broke
In early 2020, automakers canceled chip orders, expecting car sales to collapse. Instead, demand came back fast.
Chip factories had already shifted production to laptops, phones, and game consoles. Automakers lost access.
The result:
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10.5 million fewer cars were built in 2021
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3.6 million fewer in 2022
That was only the start.
Other failures followed:
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Shipping containers were stuck overseas
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Ports became backed up for weeks
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Truck driver shortages delayed deliveries
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Factories shut down or ran at half capacity
Parts that once took two weeks to ship took six to eight weeks.
What Shops Experienced
For auto body shops, delays were immediate.
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Simple repairs stretched into weeks
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Complex jobs took months
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Cars filled bays waiting on parts
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Customers grew frustrated
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Insurers pushed for updates shops couldn’t give
Suppliers promised delivery dates, then changed them. A five-day delay became three weeks. Then six.
There is no more planning, only waiting.
Why the Old Supply Chain Failed
The old supply chain was built to be fast, not flexible. Parts were made only when needed, factories ran at full speed, and very little inventory was kept. When production stopped or demand changed, there was no backup.
In Summary
COVID didn’t just slow parts delivery. It broke the system that auto body shops had relied on for decades.
Five years later, the supply chain still hasn’t fully returned to its original efficiency.
