Decreasing Size of Vehicles to Fuel Growth of Cargo Management Accessories

As fuel prices remain high, more people are likely to buy cars rather than trucks. With vehicles expected to become smaller, their owners will be looking for ways to expand the carrying capacity of their cars.

Sales of cargo management accessories will increase as North American drivers discover that they can still carry the same amount of personal effects in a passenger car or crossover vehicle as they can in a large SUV.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.automotive.frost.com), North American Cargo Management Aftermarket, reveals that manufacturers earned revenues of $315.9 million in 2006, and this total estimates to reach $430.3 million in 2013.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants an overview of the latest analysis of the North American Cargo Management Aftermarket, then send an e-mail to Vanessa Quezada - Corporate Communications at vanessa.quezada@frost.com with the following information: your full name, company name, title, telephone number, e-mail address, city, state, and country. We will send you the information via email upon receipt of the above information.

"While revenue growth is anticipated to remain strong over the forecast period, manufacturers and distributors should keep their eyes on the retiring Baby Boom generation," says Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Stephen Spivey. "Americans born in the 1940s to the 1960s are active participants in outdoor recreation and travel; and as this large population of consumers stops working, they will become an important target group for manufacturers of cargo management accessories."

With high fuel prices here to stay, Frost & Sullivan expects sales of cars to increase and light trucks to decrease. That means fewer large SUVs and one-ton pickups on the roadways, and more sedans, coupes, and crossover utility vehicles (CUVs). However, these vehicles cannot carry as much as a large truck; consumers will use cargo management accessories to handle the storage needs not met by their car or truck.

However, manufacturers are highly dependent on high-end specialty outdoor retail stores to sell cargo management accessories, since their employees are better trained to sell the merchandise. Sporting goods stores and mass merchant chains, which receive more consumer traffic, are less successful with cargo management accessories because their employees may not be able to answer vehicle owners' questions.

"Consumers have questions about the cargo and sports carriers they would like to buy, since some require custom fitting to each vehicle," explains Spivey. "If store employees do not know if the product is compatible with a shopper's car or cannot explain how to install it, the shopper is not likely to buy the product and will go to a store where employees are more helpful."

Manufacturers need to address this challenge on multiple fronts. Over the short term, they should increase product training to their customers so that they can pass the information on to their employees and improve their cargo management product sales. Over the long term, they need to identify ways to make their products simpler and easier to use so that they can be sold in mass retail stores. This would increase the overall demand for cargo management products, thus boosting revenues.

North American Cargo Management Aftermarket is part of the Automotive & Transportation Growth Partnership Services, and it provides unit shipment and revenue forecasts, manufacturer-level pricing, and market share analyses. In this study, Frost & Sullivan's expert analysts thoroughly examine the following markets: receiver hitches, roof racks, bicycle carriers, cargo boxes, cargo trays, snowsports carriers, watersports carriers, and soft-sided carriers. Interviews with the press are available.

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit http://www.frost.com.