Archived Copies of Warranty Week

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December 2002 to Today

Nine-Month New Home Warranty Report: Claims, accruals, and reserves continue to see a pattern of steady growth, despite many economists' predictions of an impending recession. Accruals per home sold continue to increase, though inflation and rising home prices mean that the accrual rate per dollar of revenue has decreased.

January 19, 2023

Worldwide Heavy Equipment Warranty Report: Claims were down a bit in 2021, but accruals rose significantly, as did product revenue. The industry's average claims and accruals rates both fell in relation to total revenue, but the combined warranty reserve fund balances of the 56 companies we're tracking in this industry grew 11% to a record $10.81 billion.

January 12, 2023

Worldwide Aviation & Jet Engine Warranty Report: Claims were down for the aircraft but up for the engines, while warranty accruals and reserve balances were up considerably for both groups. But warranty metrics in the aviation industry are still far below the peaks they set several years ago, before the pandemic caused demand for air travel to nearly cease.

December 15, 2022

Nineteenth Annual Product Warranty Report: While the erratic nature of accruals continued in 2021, claims totals remained stable. But warranty reserves hit a new record high late in the year, and expense rates briefly set a new low record early in the year. Manufacturer's warranty expenses are sorted into 18 industries and three major sectors: vehicles, electronics, and building trades.

Nine-Month 2021 Warranty Report: This year, product sales took off but warranty expenses didn't follow. The result is that early in the year, warranty expense rates dove to levels never reached before, before rising back to typical levels later on. And the cause of this dip wasn't the automakers. This time it was the computer manufacturers.

December 16, 2021

Mid-Year Aerospace Warranty Report: While in years past the top civil aviation manufacturers and their suppliers basically split the industry's warranty expenses between them, in recent years several of the OEMs have run into costly warranty issues. Meanwhile, the suppliers continue to cut their warranty costs steadily.

October 14, 2021

Mid-Year New Home Warranty Report: Some homebuilders hit the bullseye every quarter with their warranty accruals. Others oscillate wildly, allocating way too much one quarter and next to nothing the next. And while new home sales are soaring, warranty expenses are not, suggesting either exemplary levels of quality or more inefficiency. gyrations.

September 23, 2021

Worldwide Heavy Equipment Warranty Report: Claims were up a bit last year but warranty accruals fell significantly, as did product revenue. As a result, the industry's claims rate was also up a bit while the average accrual rate fell. And the combined warranty reserve fund balances of the 52 companies we're tracking in this category grew five percent to a record $9.81 billion.

September 9, 2021

Worldwide Jet Engine Warranty Report: Though some of the biggest manufacturers in the industry are also in many other lines of business, the warranty expense rates of the "pure play" jet engine makers remain close to industry averages. And while COVID grounded many commercial airliners, it didn't decimate the jet engine industry as badly as one might have guessed.

New Home & Building Materials Warranty Report: What you won't see in this week's collection of warranty expense reports are soaring or plunging warranty metrics. Most of the building trades' warranty expenses were fairly stable in 2020, with those metrics generally rising or falling by 10% or less. But just as there are exceptions to every rule, there were also a handful of big moves up and down last year.

US Computer Industry Warranty Report: Despite the pandemic and the lockdowns that followed, U.S.-based computer manufacturers continue to reduce their warranty expenses from one year to the next, as they have since 2003. And while some of their suppliers had a bad 2019 in terms of warranty cost increases, in 2020 most of them managed to reduce warranty costs proportionally to sales.

HVAC & Appliance Warranty Report: Warranty costs and expense rates remained fairly stable for the HVAC manufacturers but were much less so for the appliance makers. But the real surprise is how late in the year the effects of the pandemic lockdowns seem to have been felt. Instead of a really bad second quarter, these companies saw a slow decline from one end of the year to the next.

US Automotive OEM & Supplier Warranty Report: Because of the way their warranties are structured, car manufacturers have the highest warranty costs and their suppliers have the lowest. Truck manufacturers and their engine suppliers, however, have much closer expense rates. But the pandemic seems to have upset these patterns considerably.

Medical & Scientific Equipment Warranty Report: In the year of the pandemic, nothing seemed to happen as expected. Sales were up but warranty expenses were down, especially during the tumultuous second quarter. And some warranty expenses seem to have been shifted from early to late in the year, by both manufacturers and their customers.

Eighteenth Annual Product Warranty Report: When the pandemic began a year ago, shopping and work patterns changed radically, as many people found it hard to leave their homes or get to work. One would have expected a deep dive in warranty claims early on, but there was an even deeper drop in warranty accruals in the middle of the year, and a much higher makeup effort towards the end of the year.

New Home Warranty Report: Because new home builders were so thoroughly mauled by the effects of the Great Recession, one would think they would also have suffered greatly during the pandemic. But one would be wrong, because sales are up, and warranty expenses have more or less kept pace.

Warranty Early Reporters: Because some companies end their fiscal years months before December 31, they also report their warranty expenses a bit sooner than most. So we've collected warranty expense data from 18 early reporters in 10 industries, representing about a third of the U.S. total.

February 4, 2021

Nine-Month 2020 Warranty Report: So far this year, warranty claims are down -10%; accruals are down -15%, and warranted product sales are down -7%. But a few industries such as Security Systems and Computer Peripherals are actually up on all fronts, while the warranty metrics of Aerospace and Computers are way down.

December 17, 2020

Apple's Warranties & Service Contracts: In its brand new annual report, the company details its declining product warranty expenses while providing financial clues that suggest its market-leading extended warranty program had a really good year.

November 5, 2020

Mid-Year HVAC & Appliance Warranty Report: Some industries saw sales plummet and warranty expense rates soar. Appliances and HVAC systems weren't among them. Some of the individual companies are posting big shifts in their warranty metrics, but they seem to have more to do with acquisitions and divestments than they do with the effects of the pandemic. This is definitely not the auto industry.

October 29, 2020

Mid-Year Aerospace Warranty Report: While a big merger and a big spin-off have clouded the industry's warranty metrics, making year-to-year comparisons tricky, it's still pretty clear that the pandemic has hit aerospace companies hard. But the grounding of the 737 MAX a year before the lockdowns certainly didn't help.

October 22, 2020

U.S. New Home & RV Warranty Report: Last time, the recession hit these industries hard. This time, there's been an impact, but not as severe, at least when looking at their warranty metrics. RV sales have tanked again, but new home sales are actually rising, even in the midst of the pandemic lockdowns and the work-at-home mandates.

October 15, 2020

Worldwide Heavy Equipment Warranty Report: Though the warranty expenses of the manufacturers rise and fall with the ebb and flow of construction and mining activity, many of the warranty managers have done a good job keeping expensed proportional to sales. Still, there are a few surprises in the worldwide data we've compiled.

October 1, 2020

American Auto Warranty Expenses: In this first part of a worldwide automotive warranty report, we find last year's slowdown turning into this year's slump. But the warranty expenses of the top U.S.-based automakers were actually up last year, and have failed to fall as fast as sales did this year, leading to increased expense rates.

August 20, 2020

Worldwide Jet Engine Warranty Report: While many of the engines for today's jet airliners are made by diverse conglomerates, there are a few "pure play" turbofan makers that bear watching. And even some of those conglomerates are shedding some of their non-aviation businesses to focus on commercial aircraft.

August 13, 2020

Worldwide Aviation Warranty Expense Report: If you assumed that warranty expenses in the aviation industry is proportional to market share, you'd be way off. Companies with comparable market-leading sales totals have vastly different warranty costs, and some of the leaders in certain metrics have much smaller market shares in sales.

First Quarter Homebuilder Warranty Report: Those who expected a free-fall because of the lockdowns are likely to be pleasantly surprised how non-dire the data looks so far in early 2020. Then again, reports from the second quarter, which ends next week, are expected to show more extensive damage, in spite of all the partial reopenings.

Solar & EV Warranty Report: Because the new vehicles and power generation systems that rely on renewable energy sources are new, their warranty expenses are somewhat unpredictable. But the warranty metrics for some manufacturers are beginning to settle down, and the average expense rates are pleasantly low.

Building Materials Warranty Report: The warranty expenses of most companies in this industry are reasonably steady and predictable. Charts for both the total expenses and the average expense rates are fairly flat, compared to most industries.

Appliance Warranty Expense Report: While the HVAC industry is known for its long warranties and low warranty expense rates, the household appliance industry is known for its volatility. In 2019, claims fell and accruals rose, but the big news is the jump in expense rates seen in early 2020, caused by a recall in Europe.

HVAC Equipment Warranty Report: The big news is that after years in which most of the top HVAC companies were part of much larger conglomerates, now we have two new "pure play" industry members after the latest round of spin-offs and divestments.

Semiconductor Warranty Report: After a sudden jump in claims in 2018, warranty expense rates took a jump early last year. But by year's end, both the amount of money going towards warranty costs as well as the percent of sales it represented were back down to normal ranges. But warranty reserves haven't been this low since 2009.

Telecom Equipment Warranty Report: Warranty claims, accruals and reserves rose a bit from record low levels in 2018, but the long-term decline in the telecom network hardware industry continues unabated. Several mergers contributed to the recent increases, while some of the largest industry players continue to increase reliability, cut costs, and drive down their warranty expense rates.

Medical & Scientific Equipment Warranty Report: The amount of warranty expense reported by these manufacturers has never been lower, but their expense rates have been slowly rising for the past few years after more than a decade of cost reductions. Even though it's last year's data, the importance of low failure rates has never been higher.

Computer Warranty Report: Warranty accruals and reserves rose for the first time in years, but the long-term decline in the computer hardware industry continues nevertheless. Apple and HP see only minor changes in their warranty metrics. But some of the top disk drive makers are seeing expenses rise significantly.

Aerospace Warranty Report: The big story was Boeing, which was caught in the perfect storm of rising expenses and falling sales. But across the industry, warranty claims and accruals were up after years of slow declines. And expense rates rose as well, though not as high as the levels they were at a decade ago.

Seventeenth Annual Product Warranty Report: For a variety of reasons, claims and accruals continue to grow in the vehicle sector and shrink in the electronics sector. But sales have grown faster, so the overall share of manufacturing revenue going towards warranty expenses remains below 1.5%. Warranty reserves, meanwhile, came close to setting a new high water mark late in 2019, after years of declines.

Top 100 Warranty Providers of 2019: Though the very largest manufacturers and warranty providers rarely report massive changes in their warranty metrics from one year to the next, at least a few of the mid-sized companies always seem to report cutting their claims and accrual expenses in half. And 2019 is no exception, with major warranty cost reductions reported by several manufacturers.

Auto Parts Supplier Warranty Report: Slowly but surely, the companies that manufacture powertrain components such as engines and transmissions have seen their share of the warranty expenses rise, while the other parts suppliers have seen their share slowly shrink. And both claims and reserves are at record levels.

Homebuilder Warranty Report: As happened in 2007, the warranty metrics of the U.S.-based single-family home builders seem to have hit a bit of a plateau in 2019. Unit sales and warranty claims are up, but all the other metrics are little-changed from 2018 levels. And now, it's hard to imagine how 2020 will turn out.

Construction Equipment Warranties Worldwide: Unlike the automotive or civil aviation industry, a large chunk of the construction equipment industry worldwide does not report its warranty expenses. Still we did our best to fashion an industry estimate for their warranty expenses, relying on industry sales data to help plug the gaps.

October 24, 2019

Jet Engine Warranty Expense Report: On the one hand, the warranty expenses of the top engine makers are setting record highs. On the other hand, that increase could be caused by the non-aviation product lines of some of these conglomerates. But we might know the answer soon, as some of those product lines are spun off.

October 17, 2019

Worldwide Aviation Warranty Expense Report: Warranty accruals were up last year, but warranty claims continued to fall. It's still too early for the cost of grounding of the 737 Max to show up in the data, but why are Boeing's warranty costs always much larger than Airbus? Meanwhile, Bombardier and Dassault saw significant spikes in their warranty expenses last year, while Gulfstream and Embraer saw slight declines.

October 10, 2019

Midyear Homebuilder Warranty Report: At the midpoint of 2019, the U.S.-based homebuilders are seeing their warranty expenses decline a bit from their late 2018 peaks. It's nothing to worry about, or maybe it is? Last time it happened was late 2006, right before the boom turned to bust.

September 26, 2019

Auto Supplier Warranty Report: The data for the first half of 2019 is not looking so good for the suppliers of automotive parts and systems. Claims hit a new record high and so did warranty reserves. The silver lining in this cloud, however, is that rising sales have reduced the pain and have kept expense rates close to their historical averages.

September 12, 2019

Top Japanese Automaker Warranty Expenses: Toyota and Honda continue to recover from their recall-related spikes in warranty costs. But for Nissan Motor Company Ltd., there's not much change to report. The company's warranty expense rates have remained stubbornly close to one percent for more than a decade.

Homebuilder Warranty Report: All the metrics were up in 2018, and the growth continued into the first quarter of 2019. Claims and accruals are back to pre-recession levels, and warranty reserves hit a new record high. Meanwhile, the level of warranty expenses per new home sold show some curious and sudden spikes for some builders and long-term stability for others.

Building Material Warranty Report: As we've seen in recent reports, warranty costs are generally far below their levels of 16 years ago. But in the building trades, depending how we break them into groups, the most recent expense rates of the top manufacturers are the same or slightly higher than they were in 2003.

Appliance & HVAC Warranty Report: The HVAC manufacturers have lower warranty expense rates but keep vastly more funds on hand in their warranty reserves. And while the HVAC system makers have seen a recent upturn in their warranty expenses, the appliance makers have seen their lowest expense rates in more than a decade.

Medical & Scientific Equipment Warranty Report: Though the systems that use lasers or radiation always seem to have higher warranty costs, most of the medical device and scientific instrument manufacturers have cut their costs considerably over the past 16 years.

Telecom Industry Warranty Report: While many of the top equipment manufacturers continue to lose business to, or get acquired by foreign firms, there are still several hundred U.S.-based telecom companies paying claims and maintaining warranty reserves. But there's no denying that the business isn't what it used to be a decade ago.

Semiconductor Warranty Report: Companies that make the tools and equipment used to manufacture semiconductors and printed circuit boards spend more on claims, set aside more accruals, and shell out a larger chunk of their revenue on warranty expenses than do their customers who make the actual devices. But the companies that make the devices keep more warranty reserves on hand than do the companies that supply them with tools and equipment.

Computer Industry Warranty Report: Though the totals and averages are declining, we can't be sure it isn't caused primarily by all the companies going private or getting acquired by non-reporting parents, and thereby dropping from the list of warranty expense report providers.

Automotive Supplier Warranty Report: For years, powertrain suppliers and other parts suppliers have more or less split the industry's warranty expenses 50/50. But in recent years, the powertrain segment's share has risen fast, thanks to emissions compliance trouble in California for some Cummins diesel engines.

Automotive OEM Warranty Report: Depending on the metric you look at, the makers of cars, trucks and other vehicles account for between 40% and 45% of the warranty expenses of all U.S.-based manufacturers. But despite their size, their claims and accrual costs have been relatively stable for the past few years.

Aerospace Warranty Report: Claims and accruals continue to fall for the top aerospace OEMs, though the warranty expense rates of aerospace suppliers has been rising for two years now. And the recent acquisition of Rockwell Collins by United Technologies has made the industry's largest warranty provider even bigger.

Sixteenth Annual Product Warranty Report: Warranty costs are rising but sales are rising faster, meaning that the percentage of revenue consumed by warranty expenses remains at the low end of a decade-long decline. But can expense rates go even lower, or are we at the bottom now? A look at the totals and averages in 2018.

Nine-Month Auto Warranty Report: Though the headlines warn of layoffs, neither the sales nor the warranty expense data of the industry suggest any sort of imminent slowdown. On the contrary, many truck, car, powertrain, and automotive parts manufacturers are cutting warranty costs while enjoying rising sales.

December 6, 2018

Chinese Auto Warranties: It's not a topic you hear much about, with good reason. While more new cars are now sold in China than in any other country, most of the top ten manufacturers report that warranty costs are a minor expense. And even though the competition is fierce, warranty remains a minor concern.

October 18, 2018

Japanese Auto Warranties: While Toyota, Nissan and Honda dominate, six other companies also pay claims and make accruals for cars, trucks and buses made in Japan, or made elsewhere by a Japanese company. And while none besides Toyota & Honda report all their warranty metrics, most leave enough clues for outside observers to plug the holes with estimates.

October 11, 2018

Civilian Aircraft Report: Warranty expense rates have been steadily declining since 2011 and are now at their lowest levels ever. That means the manufacturers of everything from biplanes to business jets are cutting their warranty costs by remarkable amounts. Meanwhile, per mile, air travel is even safer than walking.

October 4, 2018

Commercial Truck Service Contracts: At roughly one percent of revenue, commercial extended warranties for trucks represent more of a convenience for customers than a major additional source of profits for manufacturers. Still, we know they bring in more than a billion dollars a year just in the U.S., even though only a handful of truck manufacturers report the relevant metrics.

Honda & Toyota Warranty Report: Both companies are recovering from some bad years in terms of warranty costs: Honda in fiscal 2016 and Toyota in fiscal 2017. But according to the figures in their brand new annual reports for the just-finished year of fiscal 2018, both companies are now on the mend, with warranty costs that are still unusually elevated, but not as high as they were a year or two ago.

Homebuilding Warranty Report: Warranty expenses are rising but so are new home prices, keeping the average amount of money accrued industry-wide after each closing relatively steady, and allowing the accrual rate as a percentage of revenue to actually decline a bit. But many homebuilders continue to raise and reduce their warranty accruals rather impulsively, and sometimes skip them altogether.

HVAC & Appliance Warranty Report: The appliance makers have higher warranty expense rates but the HVAC makers spend more. They also maintain warranty reserves that are much larger than the appliance companies, because the warranties on their products have longer durations.

Building Materials Warranty Report: Warranty costs are generally rising in recent years among the suppliers of building materials, fixtures, and furniture. The latter group has seen the most noticeable cost increase, though expense rates across the industry are still generally on the low side (below one percent of revenue).

Medical & Scientific Equipment Warranty Report: Though the companies producing systems that use lasers or X-rays continue to report elevated warranty expense rates, their costs have declined significantly and steadily since 2003. But in 2017, their warranty costs started climbing again, and in several respects have hit new heights. With other types of equipment, the outlook for warranty expenses remains mixed.

Telecom Equipment Warranty Report: As the U.S.-based telephone equipment industry continues to decline and move offshore, the domestic industry's warranty expenses have fallen in step. The exception is Internet and data communications gear, which has come to dominate the entire industry over the past 15 years.

Semiconductor Warranty Report: In this industry, the makers of the factory machinery that fabricates and tests the actual products seem to have much higher warranty expense rates than their customers. But they also have reduced their expense rates significantly over the past 15 years, while the expense rates of the device makers have remained more or less the same.

Computer Industry Warranty Report: The warranty costs of the top U.S.-based computer manufacturers are declining, but not at the expense of their suppliers. Instead, their costs seem to be declining together in parallel, with their expense rates now roughly half as high as they were 15 years ago.

Aerospace Warranty Report: Unlike the automotive industry, the manufacturers of commercial airplanes do not have higher warranty expenses than their suppliers, and do not spend a larger percentage of their sales revenue on warranty claims. But just like those land-based vehicle makers, airplane and helicopter manufacturers have been cutting their warranty costs for more than a decade.

Automotive Supplier Warranty Report: Of all the companies that supply parts and components to the car and truck manufacturers, those making engines, axles and transmissions pay the most claims and see the highest warranty expense rates. Last year, in fact, they broke records for claims paid, accruals made, and reserves held.

Automotive OEM Warranty Report: The car manufacturers used to spend a greater share of their sales revenue on warranty work than the truck manufacturers did. But because of persistent cost-cutting, that is no longer the case. Last year, car manufacturers cut their expense rates to below-average levels, while the truck manufacturers were slightly above their long-term average at the end of 2017.

Fifteenth Annual Product Warranty Report: All the metrics are down this year, including product sales. Some companies continue to cut their warranty expenses by huge amounts, producing better products with lower failure rates. But others are getting better at shifting more of their warranty expenses back onto their suppliers.

US Automaker Warranty Report: GM takes the lead as its warranty cost per vehicle dips below $300, allowing it to take a whopping $1.3 billion out of its reserve fund. Ford remains steady while Tesla still has unusually high warranty expenses. And GM is now third on the list of top warranty providers based in the U.S.

Apple's Warranties & Service Contracts: Although it is one of the world's largest warranty providers and extended warranty administrators, both programs used to be even larger. Using figures from Apple's just-published annual report, we estimate the size of each.

November 9, 2017

Midyear Computer Industry Warranty Report: Even though numerous industry players have been acquired or have gone private, the remaining manufacturers have continuously cut their warranty expenses from one year to the next. But then along came the iPhone, and now Apple's frequent ups and downs are dominating the industry's statistics.

November 2, 2017

Midyear Auto Warranty Expense Report: Though passenger car sales have slowed a bit from last year's record pace, there's no sign of a slowdown among truck makers or their suppliers. More worrisome is a slow but steady rise in warranty expenses that's been under way for several years, after more than a decade of gradual cost reduction.

October 26, 2017

Worldwide Aircraft Warranty Report: With warranty expenses that exceed a billion dollars annually, the manufacturers of airliners, business jets, and propeller planes are a major sector within the warranty industry. And over the past decade, they have learned how to reduce warranty costs while increasing revenue, as demonstrated by their declining claims and accrual rates.

Worldwide Automotive Warranty Report: With hard numbers in hand for the warranty costs of roughly 80% of the world's car and light truck manufacturers, we set out to create estimates for the remaining 20%. And not surprisingly, we find that the highest warranty costs are in Europe and North America, with the lowest in Asia.

Asian Automotive Warranty Report: Honda had a bad year in 2016, and this year it was Toyota's turn to report dramatic increases in recall costs. They used to have the lowest automotive warranty costs in the world but now that title belongs to Hyundai, which has yet to see the impact of defective air bags or other rampant problems.

New Home Warranty Report: With products such as single-family homes, it's possible to measure warranty accruals not only per dollar of revenue, but also per unit sold. And then it becomes clear which companies have mastered their warranty cost estimation process and which are still making it up as they go along.

Semiconductor Warranty Report: Though the companies making capital equipment that's used to fabricate and test semiconductors and printed circuit boards continue to pay more warranty expense than their manufacturing customers, the gap has narrowed considerably over time. Some companies have cut their expense rates in half.

Medical & Scientific Equipment Warranty Report: Anything involving lasers or X-rays seems to have higher warranty costs than other types of medical devices and scientific equipment. But the gap between them has been narrowing for years, and may soon disappear. Meanwhile, several major medical companies don't think that warranty expenses are worth the effort to report, despite rules saying otherwise.

Telecom Equipment Warranty Report: Claims and accruals have fallen dramatically in the past decade, both in terms of dollars and as a percentage of sales. Mergers and bankruptcies were a major factor, but so were cost-cutting efforts. Now, however, expenses are rising again and sales aren't, so expense rates are creeping upwards.

Power Equipment Warranty Report: While the makers of electrical power generation equipment continue to adopt new storage technologies and new fuel sources such as solar and wind, the gap between the warranty expenses of the old and the new continues to narrow. But the makers of "green" and renewable energy equipment continue to set aside more money, just in case.

Building Trades Warranty Report: Unlike most other industries, in the new home construction business, the builders have lower warranty expense rates than many of their suppliers. But the makers of appliances and heating/cooling systems are now cutting their costs and narrowing the gap between their expense rates and those of the makers of fixtures, furniture, and building materials.

Electronics Warranty Report: Although not as pronounced as in the automotive industry, and not as unseen as in the aerospace industry, there is definitely a gap in the high-tech sector between the warranty expense rates of OEMs and their suppliers. Makers of computers, telecom equipment, and medical devices have much higher warranty costs than disk drive or semiconductor manufacturers.

Aerospace Warranty Expense Report: Because one major airframe manufacturer has now separated its warranty and extended warranty accounts, the aerospace industry totals and averages are in disarray. However, many OEMs and suppliers continue to cut their warranty costs, setting new record lows for their expense rates.

U.S. & European Auto OEM Warranty Report: While Volkswagen and Fiat have seen their warranty costs rise significantly in recent years, BMW, Daimler and Tesla have driven their expense rates down. And somewhere in the middle this year are Ford and GM.

Automotive Warranty Expense Report: While the individual manufacturers see their claims, accrual, and sales totals change up and down from year to year, some long-term trends are also evident. The carmakers are cutting costs the most and the longest, while the powertrain manufacturers are falling behind other types of suppliers.

Fourteenth Annual Product Warranty Report: Warranty expenses are down but sales are up, which means a lot of companies have learned how to improve their warranty processes, increase quality, and reduce costs. But the cost reductions have become less steady in recent years, as if there's no more progress to be made. Is that the case? Or is this merely a pause before the next breakthroughs arise?

Retail Product Warranties: Though it's not common, there are some retailers, primarily in the auto parts business, that provide their own product warranties above and beyond what the manufacturers offer, and report those expenses in their financial statements. But it's likely to become more common in other lines of business, as more manufacturers open their own retail outlets or sell directly to consumers online, and more retailers begin to sell their own brands.

August 18, 2016

U.S. Truck & Auto OEM Warranty Report: While falling sales drive Navistar's claims rate upwards, Paccar finds ways to cut warranty costs. And both GM and Ford continue to report some of the lowest warranty cost per vehicle metrics in the world, while Tesla gets its warranty costs under control.

Global Construction Equipment Warranties: Half the companies report warranty expense rates that range from 1.0% to 2.3%. The other half are either above or below that range, mainly because most of their revenue and therefore most of their warranty costs come from other industries. And though there's been a few anomalies over the past 13 years, most of these manufacturers report steady and consistent warranty expenses.

Asian Auto Warranty Report: Honda sees its warranty costs soar because of air bag recalls, forcing it to set aside more money for warranty work than GM and Ford combined. Meanwhile, Toyota, Tata, and Hyundai struggle to maintain steady warranty expense rates for their nameplates.

European Auto Warranty Report: Warranty expense rates are climbing for several manufacturers in Germany, Italy, and France. But Volkswagen has set a new record for warranty costs in the automotive industry as it prepares to clean up the diesel engine mess. Daimler is the only OEM showing any stability in its warranty metrics, let alone cost reduction.

Sports Equipment & Consumer Electronics Warranty Report: While they're not the top sources of warranty expenses, there is a lot of warranty activity in these industries. So rather than bury their claims and accruals in the "other" category, let's take a look at the warranty costs of everything from karaoke machines to golf clubs.

Power Generation & Material Handling Equipment Warranty Report: While the overall totals and averages don't change by much from year to year, some of the individual companies in these industries are seeing their warranty expenses rise and fall dramatically.

New Home & Building Materials Warranty Report: The name of the game is stability. Some of the builders and their suppliers have gotten very good at accurately predicting their future warranty costs and keeping them stable. Others let them rise and fall without much of a thought about warranty management. And it's easy to see the difference relatively quickly in a chart.

Appliance & HVAC Warranty Report: HVAC manufacturers have lower warranty costs but are more cautious than other kinds of appliance makers, keeping a much higher ratio between claims and reserves. But neither group has done much to reduce their warranty expenses, though some companies have cut their costs by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Semiconductor & PC Board Warranty Report: For most of the companies making microchips and printed circuit boards, sales are up and warranty expenses are down. But expenses have fallen far more dramatically for the suppliers of the chip manufacturing equipment, who used to spend a far higher share of their revenue on claims than their customers did.

Telecom Equipment Warranty Report: Is most of the warranty cost reduction now behind them? Several parts of the industry, such as the Internet and data communications equipment makers, have seen their expense rates climb a bit in recent years. Others are letting their reserves run low, or cutting their accrual rates even as their claims payments increase.

Medical & Scientific Equipment Warranty Report: Though product sales are down, warranty expenses are down by more. And while any equipment that uses lasers or X-rays has higher warranty expenses than units that don't, those manufacturers have cut their warranty costs significantly in the past decade.

Computer Industry Warranty Report: Though their warranties are usually shorter than those on cars and trucks, their expense rates are almost as high, as a percent of revenue. And despite their higher-than-average claims and accrual rates, many computer, disk drive, and printer manufacturers prefer to keep their warranty reserve cushions as slender as possible.

Aerospace Warranty Report: Unlike the computer and automotive industries, the aerospace OEMs do not pay a vastly greater share of industry warranty expenses than do their suppliers. However, like their parts and component suppliers, they tend to provide longer warranties and keep larger reserve balances than manufacturers in other industries.

Auto Parts Supplier Warranty Report: Suppliers of engines and transmissions keep larger warranty reserve balances and pay higher warranty expense rates than do suppliers of other automotive components. But those other suppliers have done a better job of cutting their warranty expenses over the past decade, though they've lost ground recently.

Automotive OEM Warranty Report: There were some big declines in warranty costs last year, but it was more a case of getting back to normal after a bad 2014 filled with recalls. Still, the carmakers set a new low for their expense rates, and many of the heavy truck and construction equipment companies also continued to push warranty costs lower.

Thirteenth Annual Product Warranty Report: As the latest charts clearly show, American manufacturers are spending less on warranty than they used to. But is it because of better products, less costly repairs, or fewer sales? Now that the 2015 warranty expense data collection is almost complete, it's time to figure out why claims and accruals are declining.

U.S. & Asian Auto Warranty Report: Almost every passenger car manufacturer is reporting rising warranty expense rates, thanks to soaring recall costs. But while some OEMs are seeing their costs per unit rise by a third or even by half, a few are reporting only small increases.

European Auto Warranty Report: In this initial piece of a two-part series, we look at the claims rates and accruals-per-vehicle rates of five of the top European automotive OEMs. Whether we count in euro or dollars, some of them have the most expensive factory warranties in the world. But a few have managed to cut those costs over the past decade.

Electrical Power Equipment Warranty Report: While the warranty expenses of most of these manufacturers are generally low, there hasn't been much of an effort to drive them even lower. However, some companies that are seeing costs increase are still cutting the amount they set aside for the future.

Sports Equipment Warranty Report: The makers of ATVs, jet skis, snowmobiles, and other sports vehicles are very serious about reducing their warranty expenses. But the makers of hockey sticks, helmets, camping gear and other equipment aren't. So for one side of the sports industry, warranty costs are dropping. But for the other, costs remain the same.

Materials Handling Equipment Warranty Report: Though it's difficult to figure out who's in and who's out of this industry, there's no doubt that they're reducing their warranty expense rates to the lowest percentage of sales revenue seen since at least 2003.

Home Appliance & HVAC Warranty Report: There are a few very large companies with operations in multiple industries that make it difficult to examine just the warranty expenses of the major appliance and HVAC companies. But if we set them off on their own, we can calculate industry averages for the expenses of others.

Building Materials Industry
Warranty Report: While some sectors have been able to reduce their warranty costs, others have seen them slowly rise. A few have seen costs rise as revenue falls, making warranty expenses even more painful to manage. But some have gotten their costs back under control after seeing them spike in recent years.

New Home & RV Warranty Report: Put a home on wheels and its warranty costs rise. While the warranties on traditional site-built homes typically cost the builder about one percent of selling price, the warranty cost of mobile homes is somewhat higher. And the warranty cost of modular, prefabricated homes may be highest of all.

Semiconductor Industry Warranty Report: While the companies making semiconductors and printed circuit boards have kept their warranty expenses below one percent of revenue, the companies that make the machinery that actually manufactures the products pay much more. Even so, over the past decade the machinery makers have been much more successful at cutting their warranty expenses than their customers.

Telecom Equipment Warranty Report: Some of the four very different segments of the telecom equipment industry are better at reducing their warranty costs than others. But the biggest trend over the last decade has been the contraction of the U.S.-based part of the industry, and the rise of European and Asian competitors in their place, except for the Internet/data and broadcasting/cable TV segments.

Medical Equipment Warranty Report: While most of the companies in this industry have fairly low warranty expense rates, those that deal with either lasers or X-rays see much higher costs. And even those with low costs keep a very thin cushion, so when things go wrong they go very wrong.

Computer Supplier Warranty Report: Data storage system manufacturers have been steadily reducing their warranty costs for more than a decade. But the cost reductions seem to have slowed down in recent years. Meanwhile, for peripheral manufacturers, warranty expense rates are now almost back to normal, following years of elevated costs.

Computer OEM Warranty Report: As the industry shifts from desktops to laptops to smartphones, warranty expenses rise as the form factor shrinks. And after decades of competition, a few large players with huge warranty operations are left where once there were dozens of manufacturers.

Auto Parts Supplier Warranty Report: Compared to the automotive OEMs, the suppliers have kept their warranty costs low and ytheir expense rates stable. And while some saw costs drift upwards last year, on average the group remained about the same, as they have for the last few years.

Aerospace Warranty Report: Because a few big manufacturers dominate the industry, their problems or successes with warranty cost control can change the industry averages significantly. But over the long term, the trend is clear: aerospace suppliers have learned how to cut their warranty expenses and keep them low. The OEMs? Not so much.

Automotive Warranty Report: Dollar for dollar, the cost of a truck warranty is about the same as the cost of a warranty on a much smaller vehicle. But with trucks, the costs are spread more evenly among multiple companies, while with cars the OEM usually pays the most.

Twelfth Annual Product Warranty Report: Warranty expenses are once again rising and so are the associated expense rates. Much of that has to do with the increased cost of passenger car recalls, and some of it is caused by the soaring sales of smartphones. But could it be that some of the most successful warranty cost-cutters have let things slip back a little recently?

Apple's Warranty & AppleCare Programs: It's not the kind of thing the consumer advocates like to report, but one of the world's leading electronics manufacturers and retailers is giving its customers a break, paying more warranty claims, keeping extended warranty prices steady, and giving customers a better value proposition on their product protection plans.

October 30, 2014

Mid-Year Service Contract Report: Consumers will pay nearly $40 billion this year for product protection plans, despite the best efforts of the watchdogs who tell them not to. It's mostly for smartphones and passenger cars, though, because everything else is perceived to be disposable and not worth fixing.

October 9, 2014

Mid-Year Warranty Expense Report: By comparing each company to itself over time, and then comparing the size of the changes, we can spot the companies with the most improved warranty costs and those in the most trouble.

October 2, 2014

Consumer Electronics Warranty Report: The traditional radio and TV makers are gone, and even laptops are giving way to smartphones. So it's no surprise to see the bulk of the industry's warranty expenses shift from Hi-Fi to Wi-Fi. But that expansion also drags in lots of business-to-business sales as well as heavily-exported product lines into the analysis.

Telecom Equipment Warranty Report: As the old guard making landline phone equipment declines, the makers of data communication equipment and smartphones are accounting for an increasing share of the industry's warranty expenses. Still, there's been an overall decline in both the expense totals and the expense rates.

Semiconductor Industry Warranty Report: In no other industry is the factory machinery so costly, and so expensive to maintain. And nowhere else does the output of the factory have such low warranty expense rates, compared to the machinery used to make it. It's as if the factory owners have shifted much of their warranty costs onto their equipment suppliers.

New Homes & Building Materials Warranty Report: As sales recover, warranty expense rates are getting back to normal for the builders. But some of their suppliers, such as the makers of electrical and plumbing fixtures, are now enjoying the results of a decade of warranty cost-cutting.

Computer Industry Warranty Report: Thanks to the popularity of smartphones, Apple is now the largest warranty provider in the U.S. But most other computer makers are cutting warranty expenses, as are most disk drive makers. Even Microsoft is getting over the Xbox warranty calamity it suffered through a few years ago.

Auto Parts Supplier Warranty Report: Turns out it's the large truck and bus manufacturers and their engine, axle and transmission suppliers who haven't done much to reduce their warranty expenses over the past decade. Passenger car makers and suppliers of auto parts besides drivetrain components have done a much better job of cutting costs.

Automotive OEM Warranty Report: While warranty expenses are down significantly among vehicle makers as a group, the real progress has been made primarily by Ford and GM.

Appliance & HVAC Warranty Report: While we group them together, they're actually very different. Appliance makers pay higher warranty expense rates but for shorter durations. HVAC makers keep larger reserves on hand but they have to, given their longer-lasting warranties.

Aerospace Warranty Report: The makers of the actual planes and helicopters haven't done much to reduce their warranty expenses but their suppliers have done a remarkable job with their cost-cutting efforts. In this week's report, we look at both groups together and separately.

Eleventh Annual Product Warranty Report: While some manufacturers are having trouble with product reliability, others are seeing their warranty expenses rise simply because they're selling more product than ever before. Case in point: the new holder of the title of world's largest warranty provider.

New Home Warranty Report: Sales are rising and home prices are increasing, but warranty costs are remaining the same. So the cost of new home warranties as both a percentage of sales and on a per-home basis are declining, in some cases to record low levels. Is this the beginning of a long-awaited recovery in the new home industry?

January 30, 2014

Computer Warranty Report: Traditional laptop and hard drive sales are declining, while smartphone and solid state storage sales soar. However, the change in product mix is raising warranty costs for some manufacturers such as Apple.

January 23, 2014

Large Vehicle Warranty Report: There's only a very narrow gap between the warranty expense rates of large vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers. And while some manufacturers are reducing their warranty costs, many are simply returning to the expense rates they've had for most of the past decade.

January 16, 2014

Automotive Warranty Report: For the first nine months of 2013, claims are up a bit from 2012 levels while accruals are down. More importantly, the percentage of revenue spent on warranty work is down as well. That means manufacturers expect to see lower warranty costs in the future, as they make more reliable vehicles that cost less to repair.

January 9, 2014

Aerospace Warranty Report: While a huge increase in Boeing's warranty costs is driving up the average for aerospace OEMs, the suppliers of avionics, jet engines, spare parts and other aircraft components are seeing their lowest warranty expense rates of the past decade.

Semiconductor Warranty Report: Unlike in most industries, with integrated circuits the production machinery generates most of the warranty cost while the actual products made by those machines generate less. However, the machinery makers have done a much better job of reducing their warranty expenses over the past decade.

Automotive Warranty Report: Automotive manufacturers are cutting their warranty costs to the lowest levels of the decade. Sales are recovering from the depths of the recession but warranty expense rates are remaining low. However, some of the suppliers are paying more as the OEMs get better at seeking reimbursements.

Computer Warranty Report: In terms of streamlining the warranty process so it can be as efficient as possible while making more reliable products, computer manufacturers and their suppliers are doing a great job. But at the same time, they went from spending the least on warranty in 2009 to the most ever in 2012. How can both statements be true?

Tenth Annual Warranty Report,
Totals & Averages: The automotive manufacturers are cutting their warranty expenses while the computer makers are seeing higher costs. But put them together, and they're paying the smallest percentage of their revenue ever for warranty work on their products.

Warranty Software Report: IDC Manufacturing Insights has documented the spectrum of claims processing tools available to warranty providers and extended warranty administrators. And like it did in March with its warranty analytics vendor assessment, the crew once again looked at each company's current capabilities, target customers, industries served, and future strategies.

Automotive Warranty Report: While suppliers seem to have gotten a reprieve from escalating pressure to pay a greater share of warranty costs, OEMs are enjoying fast sales growth and a return to old levels. Meanwhile, Ford has decided to begin reporting warranty and recall costs together.

Ninth Annual Warranty Report,
Totals & Averages: Warranty expenses rose in 2011, as the recovery continued to take hold. But sales grew a bit faster, and the percentage of revenue used to pay for warranty work fell to record low levels.

Aerospace Warranty Report: Unlike the auto industry, the suppliers of this industry account for the bulk of its warranty spending. And yet these suppliers have been steadily cutting their warranty costs year after year, while the airframe makers are paying more than ever before.

January 12, 2012

Top 100 Warranty Providers: While most manufacturers keep cutting their warranty costs, some report massive spikes in their claims and accrual rates for the year ended in September. Others continue to recover from past spikes, with some of the largest declines of the year.

December 29, 2011

Warranty Adjustments, Part 1: When a company discovers it has more in its warranty reserve than is needed, it can withdraw the excess funds and add them to profits. Some of these financial adjustments can be huge, and can help dress up an otherwise disappointing financial report.

October 27, 2011

Mid-Year Warranty Report: The good news continues into the first half of 2011, with massive warranty cost reductions extending their streak into a ninth straight year. With sales finally getting back to normal, product reliability has never been better, and repair costs have never been lower than they are now.

October 6, 2011

Computer Warranty Report: The bigger the box, the smaller the warranty expense. And when phones get smart, and when computers get small enough to fit into pockets, warranty costs seem to grow proportionally. That's what the industry's warranty claims and accrual data, gathered over the past 8-½ years, seems to suggest.

September 29, 2011

Automotive Warranty Report: As vehicle makers get back to normal and sales rebound, one thing that's not bouncing back is their warranty expense. Key warranty metrics continue to decline, including claims as a percentage of revenue. And once again, the warranty reserve fund balances of the top vehicle makers and their suppliers are growing.

September 22, 2011

New Home Warranty Report: New home sales continue to fall and so do warranty costs. As homebuilders wonder if this is the bottom of the economic cycle, we wonder whether they may be keeping more warranty reserves on hand than they need.

September 8, 2011

Power Equipment Warranty Report: While GE dominates the traditional end of the electrical power generation business, a whole group of new companies are jumping into the solar energy and electric car businesses. And some retailers that never had much to do with the gasoline engine are angling to become the new homes of the charging stations.

Appliance & HVAC System
Warranty Report: Every journey includes a few bumps, and both appliance and HVAC makers have hit a few in the past couple of years. But like other building material suppliers, they're doing much better than the homebuilders, because they have both home renovations and replacements to fall back on.

Fixtures, Furniture & Building
Material Warranty Report: Sales have fallen but warranty costs aren't falling as fast. Still, it's not as bad as things in the new home industry, because suppliers can fall back on existing home renovations.

New Home Warranty Report: Though sales keep falling, claims are rising after several years of declines, and the accrual rates are holding steady. So is the worst over? Or are there homebuilders out there with bigger problems ahead of them?

Medical & Scientific Equipment
Warranty Report: Though there is a strong seasonal pattern that drives their warranty costs up in the summertime, companies in this sector have generally been able to reduce those costs from year to year. Even the companies making warranty-intensive X-ray and laser equipment have been cutting costs in recent years.

Telecom Equipment
Warranty Report: The makers of network gear are generally seeing lower warranty costs, though their reserve funds are barely able to cover claims. And there's a new market leader, in terms of both the size of their warranty budget and the way they've been able to steadily reduce costs over time.

Disk Drive & Semiconductor Report: Warranty costs are falling for most of the high tech component makers, both in dollars spent and as a percent of sales. And unlike in the auto industry, the computer OEMs are not yet as accomplished at pushing their warranty costs back onto their parts suppliers.

Computer Warranty Report: After years of cost cutting, warranty expenses remained low last year and look to stay there this year, even as sales continue to rebound. Apple, meanwhile, is beginning to feel the effects of the increased warranty cost that comes in small packages.

Aerospace Warranty Report: While the airframe makers and their suppliers pay out roughly the same percentage of product revenue for warranty claims, they keep very different levels of reserves. The airframe makers keep a balance equal to four years of claims, while their suppliers keep half as much in their warranty reserve funds.

Automotive Warranty Report: After spiking to worrying levels in 2009, automotive warranty claims rates returned to normal in 2010, while the OEMs' accrual rates have never been lower. Their parts suppliers, however, continue to see their warranty costs escalate as the OEMs insist they share a bigger slice of the burden.

Eighth Annual Warranty Report,
Totals & Averages: When sales fell, so did warranty costs. But even though sales are rising again, warranty costs are remaining low as a percent of sales. That reflects a change in reliability, and caps a multi-year success story resulting from the increased attention paid to warranties.

Seventh Annual Warranty Report,
Totals & Averages: Claims are down. But accruals are down by more, and it looks like they're down by more than they should be. Ten charts provide a snapshot of the warranty landscape as manufacturers enter the recovery phase.

Home Warranties & Foreclosures: As the industry looks for a way up from the bottom, home warranties may become a valuable selling tool. Buyers, worried about the damage done by departing owners, vandals, and the weather, might appreciate the coverage of a home warranty. Industry insiders, meanwhile, report that claims costs on foreclosures aren't that different from their other policies.

December 3, 2009

Appliance & Building Material Warranties: We conclude our mid-year product warranty report with a look at the supplier side of the homebuilding industry, where we find at least one group paying more for warranty claims this year than they did last year.

October 22, 2009

Worldwide Electronics Warranties: It's not where you're from as much as what you make. European and Japanese electronics companies report warranty expense rates similar to what their American competitors do. The difference is that while U.S. companies must report what used to be trade secrets, the international companies are simply doing their New York Stock Exchange shareholders a big favour.

Warranty Improvements: Clever companies are now looking beyond warranty, wondering what else they can do with their data to improve quality and service and further reduce costs. At the WCM Conference in a few weeks, several will report on the status of these efforts.

February 27, 2009

Warranty Research Report: There are only a few more days to download free copies of the latest report from the Aberdeen Group. Using survey data, it finds a huge correlation between metrics, analytics, and success in warranty management.

Mid-Year Warranty Report: Numerous companies continue to fine-tune their warranty spending, reacting to claims rate fluctuations by modifying accruals. While warranty spending by one company can't be compared to another's, we can compare a company to itself over time, by way of a series of top ten lists.

August 15, 2007

Semiconductor Warranties: Although warranty costs are volatile across the industry, it's the makers of test equipment and production machinery that seem to pay the most. And it's the chip and circuit board makers that pay the least -- some so little that they don't bother to report it to the SEC.

Top 100 Warranty Providers: In this midyear report, we look at who's up and who's down compared to a year ago. Driven by acquisitions and longer warranties, some companies are paying out more than ever before. But others have found ways to cut their outlays by big numbers.

September 26, 2006

Warranty Research: As one important new warranty research project concludes, another is beginning. AberdeenGroup's warranty report is now available for download, while APQC's survey questions are available for a first look.

Automotive Warranties: While GM and Ford spend the most on warranty, other types of vehicle manufacturers pay out a greater share of their total revenue on claims. And while most parts suppliers have relatively low claims rates, those in the aftermarket report some of the highest rates of all.

Automotive Warranties: As seen by its third quarter financial statements, Ford is catching up to GM, both in terms of revenue and warranty spending. Ford has now become only the second American manufacturer to ever pay out $1 billion or more in warranty claims per quarter. Meanwhile, other U.S.-based vehicle manufacturers have their own warranty ups and downs to report.

November 15, 2005

Warranty Report: A white paper commissioned by Microsoft finds that the auto industry needs better communications and collaboration tools to reduce warranty costs.

October 12, 2005

Extended Warranties in the UK: After concluding that British retailers charge some of the highest prices in the world for extended warranties, the UK's Competition Commission's final report advocates reforms of the salesperson-to-consumer relationship.

January 20, 2004

Don't TREAD On Me: Automakers and consumer advocates argue over public disclosure of early warning report data.

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