PORTLAND, Maine — The first ice of the season is here and Maine auto body shops have the work on hand to prove it.
Progressive Auto Body Repairs owner Michael Raymond said he saw two accidents on the way to his Portland shop Tuesday morning, “with the ice on the roads, we got a warning this morning.”
The season of icy roads is here in Maine, so drivers should have a handle on conditions. But Raymond says he has seen cars on the road that are unprepared.
"They're not ready for it,” he said. “We see people with tires that are bald."
About two miles away from Raymond’s shop is Harbour Auto Body. General Manager Shaun Bridges says prepping your vehicle for winter weather is crucial.
"A lot of it comes down to vehicle maintenance, people aren't prepared," he said. "You have these conditions coming and tires ... that's the number one factor because, without good tires, you don't grip the road properly."
Tires with an insufficient grip on the road are a common cause of a visit to Raymond and Bridges shops.
Bridges told NEWSCENTER Maine that his shop is booking for the second week of February.
"We've been stuck in a roughly three-month time frame," he said.
Bridges and Raymond say the delays started with the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain issues. The United Auto Workers strike did not help, either. Not only were some parts facilities shut down, but certain shippers were not sending out orders to respect the picket lines.
Now that the UAW has tentative agreements with the automakers, the shops expect getting parts to be easier.
"It's already starting to come in,” Raymond said. “I had some parts that were backordered and then I got them the following week."
Even with part pipelines opening up again, Bridges says that recovery from the shutdowns during the strikes will take time.
"You still have the roughly one-month backlog of all the parts that have been ordered, that haven't been processed and haven't been shipped. We have cars that have been here for almost a month that are waiting for small tiny pieces."
Coupled with a shortage of mechanics, auto body work is just going to take longer than drivers or the shops want.