CAWA sponsored legislation assures consumers in California are one step closer to achieving safer vehicles with the passage of AB 471, a measure that will expand the inspection of vehicle safety components and systems. The bill was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 28th. Authored by Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Silicon Valley) and co-authored by Assemblymember Heath Flora (R-San Joaquin Valley), AB 471 combines the state’s current Brake and Lamp inspection program required for salvage vehicles to be registered by the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), renames it the California Vehicle Safety Inspection Program (CVSIP) and includes additional safety inspection criteria and systems as developed by the California Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR). The bill also allows safety certificates to be electronically sent to the DMV by BAR, saving money for the state, and creating convenience for consumers, inspection stations and repair shops. See the complete press release here.

It’s easy, click here and let your legislator know the importance of a national Right to Repair initiative. Simply scan the bar code on the enclosure and let your voice be heard!

The South Coast Air Quality Management District Governing Board Approved Rule 2305/Warehouse Actions and Investments to Reduce Emissions (WAIRE) Program. This is not good news for our members and others in the Industry that have warehouses in the District. By now, either your business or your association members have likely started to grapple with the immense cost and administrative burden imposed by this rule, which are estimated to cost approximately $1 per year, per square foot of warehousing space operating in Southern California and may eliminate up to 100,000 working class jobs by 2030. On August 4th, the California Trucking Association (CTA) and its counsel from the internationally recognized law firm Holland and Knight filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of the South Coast AQMD’s WAIRE program.

This lawsuit alleges multiple violations of federal and state law, including: 

Contact CAWA’s President & CEO (admin@cawa.org or 800.332.2292) should your company be interested in financially contributing to this lawsuit or receiving a copy of the lawsuit filing.

Demurrage/Detention Fees: For those of you that are being forced to pay what you consider unfair demurrage/detention fees, there is a lot more focus on this issue now from the Federal Maritime Commission. I strongly suggest that you reach out to them (here) to help you with recovering these fees. You will find them very interested in helping you with this issue. And, with the changes being made at the FMC, you now have much more leverage to push for a fair resolution and refund.

Container Quick Resolution Contacts: If you are having a problem with a container(s) stuck or lost in any given terminal within the ports of Long Beach or Los Angeles, here are contacts you can reach out to that will help you resolve the issues. For additional information including contacts see here.

Continued disruption among suppliers requires swift action plan for near- and long-term survival, the firm says. Automotive manufacturers and suppliers continue to face pandemic-provoked challenges including production shutdowns, an accelerated shift to virtual sales, and parts shortages. Deloitte’s fifth “Global Automotive Supplier Study” examines the trends influencing significant structural changes across virtually every arm of a heavily nuanced and complex global automotive supply chain. The report is based on quantitative analysis of shareholder value performance from nearly 300 of the top global automotive suppliers and interviews with senior automotive supplier executives. See more details here. Source: aftermarketNews

Arizona has recovered nearly all of the jobs lost during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some parts of the state, specifically the Phoenix area and Pinal County exurbs, recorded 297,000 more employees than they had last April. For the second month in a row, Arizona leads the nation in small business job creation according to the Small Business Jobs Index from Paychex and IHS Markit. In February, Gov. Doug Ducey set a goal of adding 325,000 jobs to the economy within the year, which Arizona has already surpassed. Of the 331,500 jobs shed since April 2020, Arizona has recovered 94% of them. Read more here. Source: Our Friends at the Arizona Chamber Business News

The independent auto care industry relies on global trade. Our repair shops and part stores sell both original equipment manufacturer (OEM) auto parts as well as aftermarket auto parts.  

In 2020, the United States exported $66.69 billion and imported $131.5 billion worth of automotive parts.

Unfortunately, supply chain issues are negatively impacting our domestic aftermarket part manufacturers’ ability to export parts, and our industry’s ability to efficiently import auto parts which is resulting in part shortages and order delays. Click on the link to let your voice be heard: Tell Congress to support H.R. 4996, the “Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021”.

Lucid Motors has officially started rolling new electric vehicles off the assembly line, marking a successful launch of its Advanced Manufacturing Plant, dubbed AMP-1. Lucid says the AMP-1 factory was constructed in less than one year. The 590-acre site claims to be the first "greenfield, dedicated electric vehicle factory" in North America. The company already plans to expand the facility as it works to center its production framework in Arizona. See the full article here. Source: Our Friends at the Arizona Chamber of Commerce

Automotive accounted for more than $1.2 trillion of retail spending in 2020, according to the new SEMA Retail Trends Report. Automotive is the single-biggest retail segment in the U.S., accounting for 20% (more than $1.2 trillion) of retail spending in 2020, according to the new Retail Trends Report from SEMA Market Research. The report highlights U.S. retail spending and includes new findings on the retail side of the specialty-equipment market, including specialty-automotive shopping behavior and trends. Retail is a huge part of the U.S. economy, representing more than $6.2 trillion in 2020. While online sales are growing, it is a small slice of the total – growing to roughly 14% of total retail sales, up from 11% in 2019. See more details of the report here. Source: aftermarketNews

Tell your company’s HR Department (or the person in charge of hiring your associates) that CAWA has an industry specific job board. We created the job board and participate in conjunction with the Auto Care Association, MEMA, SEMA and ASA to name a few national associations. So, your job opening would be viewed by a great number of candidates given the exposure, through not only CAWA distribution, but the other industry association’s communications vehicles, as well.

See https://www.cawa.org/Jobs for details.