Light trucks generated 91 percent of the total increase in light vehicle aftermarket product sales between 1990 and 2000, according to James A. Lang, president of Lang Marketing Resources, Inc., a Wyckoff, N.J., research and consulting firm specializing in the vehicle products industry.

From less than one-third of 1990 light vehicle aftermarket product sales, light trucks climbed to 34 percent of 1992 volume, soaring to 37 percent of the 1994 light vehicle aftermarket. By 1996, light trucks captured 40 percent of car and light truck aftermarket product volume, climbing to 44 percent share during 1998. By 2000, light trucks were responsible for 47 percent of total light vehicle aftermarket product volume, nearly 50 percent greater than their light vehicle aftermarket product share 10 years earlier.

"Light trucks recorded more rapid annual product growth than virtually any other segment of the aftermarket during the 1990s," Lang said. "Between 1990 and 1995, light trucks averaged 6.9 percent annual product growth at user-price, with light truck products climbing at an even faster pace over the next five years, averaging 7.1 percent annual growth between 1995 and 2000."

Light truck aftermarket product volume nearly doubled between 1990 and 2000. From $18.8 billion in 1990, light trucks soared to $26.2 billion in product sales at user-price in current dollars during 1995. By 2000, light trucks totaled $36.9 billion in aftermarket product volume, an increase of $18.1 billion compared to 1990. "Light trucks are having a profound impact in the aftermarket and will be a primary force shaping aftermarket product demand over the next 10 years," Lang predicted.

Compared to light trucks, passenger car aftermarket product growth was paltry. From 1990 to 2000, cars averaged less than 1 percent annual product growth, with passenger car aftermarket product sales actually dropping between 1995 and 2000.

This analysis is from The Lang Aftermarket Annual 2001, a 122-page report providing aftermarket information. For more information, contact Lang Marketing Resources, Inc., PO Box 32, Wyckoff, NJ 07481; call (201) 652-5220; fax (201) 652-5324; or e-mail annualreport@langmarketing.com.

For a table of contents and more information about The Lang Aftermarket Annual 2001, visit www.langmarketing.com.