President’s Message: Preserving Today, Protecting Tomorrow
The myth of “it will slow down after AAPEX” continues to perpetuate within our industry and I hope that all of you are keeping up. As we begin our third year of challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, I want to thank all of you for your support of the association and the industry during these difficult times. I especially would like to thank those exhibitors and buyers who attended AAPEX. Without your support, AAPEX would not have been the remarkable success that it was in 2021.
Preserving today’s industry
As you are aware, the Auto Care Association relies heavily on AAPEX and membership dues revenues to support today’s industry initiatives that help to spearhead the latest industry advancements and to keep us competitive with the OEMs. Your contributions to the association, both financial and voluntary efforts, are what have preserved our industry in a time of unprecedented uncertainties.
Protecting the industry of tomorrow
As I write this in the closing month of the year, I become increasingly concerned over the engagement of our industry in protecting our future. “That’s the Auto Care Association’s job,” you might think; however, we need you more now than ever to get involved in the association and the industry.The number of people employed in the aftermarket is more than double that of the auto manufacturers and dealers combined. So why is the aftermarket still having to fight the car companies for the right to continue doing business? For an industry comprised of more than four million workers, we don’t act like it where it matters most. On Capitol Hill, the automakers have nearly 300 dedicated lobbyists, backed by millions of dollars, controlling the message that Congress hears about Right to Repair. For every dollar we spent this past year on PAC donations, the automakers outspent us by more than $21 on competing PACs. That will only change once you decide to change it.
All of us love this industry, but are you ready to defend it?
Defending the industry comes in many forms. Something as simple as paying your membership dues is what lays the foundation for preserving our industry today. We must build upon dues and donations if we are to win the fight for tomorrow's auto care industry, though. This New Year, I encourage all of us to do something extra for our industry's future. Attend an association event, volunteer for an auto care committee, write a letter to your elected officials, host a congressperson at your place of business, or support ACPAC.We are not only essential -- we are also resilient. Our industry has strength in numbers, but we can only wield that power if we all work together to defend our industry's future. Your association has supported the success of our industry for more than 100 years and we look forward to doing so for generations to come... we just need your help to do so.
Mike Chung
is director, market intelligence at Auto Care Association. With more than a dozen years of experience in market research, Chung provides the industry with timely information on key factors and trends influencing the health of the automotive aftermarket to help businesses throughout the supply chain make better business decisions. Chung has earned degrees in chemical engineering, environmental health, and business administration. He can be reached at michael.chung@autocare.org.
Welcome to the new YANG Effect! Your one-stop quarterly newsletter for all things Automotive Aftermarket contributed to and written by under-40 industry professionals.
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Market Insights with Mike is a series presented by the Auto Care Association's Director of Market Intelligence, Mike Chung, that is dedicated to analyzing market-influencing trends as they happen and their potential effects on your business and the auto care industry.
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