Parts managers and outside parts sales personnel experienced moderate increases in earnings in recent years, according to the results of the Trailer/Body Builders parts department survey. Earnings for inside sales people appeared to be level.
Based on the salary figures from 64 industry companies, the average parts manager in this industry earns just under $40,000 per year. Parts managers who work for truck dealers earn the most on average ($44, 250), while trailer dealers also pay parts managers in excess of $40,000.
According the survey results: *Truck equipment distributors pay parts managers an average of $37,947. Of the five types of companies participating in the survey, however, distributors showed the greatest variation in compensation levels. Responses ranged from $70,000 to $20,000 among the 21 truck equipment distributors reporting parts manager salaries. Two years ago, a similar survey conducted by Trailer/Body Builders found that the average parts manager earned $34,892-or approximately a 4% annual increase for each of those two years. *Trailer dealers also showed a wide range in compensation, but not quite as extensively as truck equipment distributors. The $41,505 average includes one company that pays parts managers $52,000 a year and another that pays $20,000 among the 19 trailer dealers that reported salaries for parts managers. Two years ago, the average was $39,377. This indicates that parts manager salaries for trailer dealers have gone up an average of just under 3% per year since 1997. *Repair shops pay parts managers an average of $34,315. Responses ranged from $16,640 to $50,000 annually. *Parts specialists provide parts managers an average of $38,440 per year. The lowest-paid parts manager earned $18,000, while the most highly paid earned $50,000. Going Out, Earning More While almost every survey participant reported parts manager compensation, not every parts department has its own outside sales personnel. Those that do reported the following: *Truck equipment distributors pay them an average of $39,000-more than the compensation for the parts manager. Responses ranged from $32,000 to $50,000. The results from Trailer/Body Builders' 1997 survey showed an average compensation of $34,892 for outside sales positions. This indicates an annual increase of almost 6% for the past two years. *Trailer dealers also are paying more for outside sales positions. Results ranged from a high of $50,000 per year to a low of $24,000. According to survey results, the average outside parts salesperson for a trailer dealer earns $34,985. Two years ago, the results for trailer dealers indicated the average compensation for outside sales positions was $30,668. If the results are accurate, outside parts salespeople have earned an average of 7% more per year the past two years. *Repair shops pay an average $31,350 per year to their outside parts salespeople. Only nine repair shops reported having an outside parts salesperson on the payroll, but their compensation ranged from $26,000 to $60,000 per year. *Parts specialists pay outside parts salespeople $31,350 per year, according to the results of the survey. Compared with the other types of companies, the salary range was relatively narrow. The minimum compensation reported was $25,000, with a maximum of $39,000. *Truck dealers offer their outside parts salespeople an average of $30,175. The salary range was less than $10,000-from $25,840 to $35,000. Among all respondents, the average compensation for outside parts salespeople was $35,511.
Inside Sales Pay Steady Compensation for inside parts salespeople appeared to be stable, according to survey results. Overall, those selling inside earned an average of $27,367, virtually matching the $27,151 average from Trailer/Body Builders' 1997 survey.
Truck equipment distributors were relatively close to the overall average, paying $27,177 annually. The average two years ago was $26,960-a 1% gain over a two-year period.
Trailer dealers pay inside salespeople $27,411 on average. Two years ago when Trailer/Body Builders conducted a similar survey, inside parts salespeople earned $27,151.
Repair shops pay inside parts salespeople the most-$28,750 per year-according to the results of the survey. Truck dealers were next with an average compensation level of $28,280.
Parts specialty companies pay inside salespeople an average of $24,640.
Parts Department Compensation by State
State Parts Manager (average) Outside Sales (average) Inside Sales (average) Arkansas $30,000.00 $26,000.00 $27,000.00 California $38,175.00 $35,133.33 $26,050.00 Colorado $36,000.00 * $22,000.00 Florida $45,375.00 $40,000.00 $27,500.00 Georgia $45,000.00 * $30,000.00 Illinois $44,000.00 $40,000.00 $31,333.33 Indiana $37,066.67 $32,500.00 $29,500.00 Kansas $35,000.00 * $25,000.00 Kentucky $24,000.00 * Maine $45,000.00 $40,000.00 $32,500.00 Michigan $35,000.00 $26,000.00 $26,000.00 Minnesota $41,000.00 * $20,020.00 Missouri $34,805.71 $37,500.00 $27,750.00 North Carolina $41,000.00 $34,500.00 $26,000.00 North Dakota $25,000.00 * Nebraska $31,533.33 $24,000.00 * New Jersey * $45,000.00 $30,500.00 Nevada $36,400.00 * Ohio $50,000.00 $33,000.00 $25,500.00 Oklahoma $34,000.00 $40,000.00 $30,000.00 Oregon $40,000.00 $30,000.00 $33,000.00 Puerto Rico $18,000.00 $25,000.00 $11,000.00 South Dakota $26,000.00 * $24,000.00 Tennessee $41,333.33 $33,900.00 $26,333.33 Texas $46,187.50 $35,473.33 $26,355.00 Utah $45,000.00 $60,000.00 $30,000.00 Wisconsin $45,000.00 $35,000.00 $33,000.00
Grand average $39,043.05 $35,584.44 $27,378.78