I just got this notice from Berardi Honda - a letter sent to them from Honda. If you're considering buying parts, better to buy at a lower price.

"Dear Honda Parts Manager,

On April 1, 2016, American Honda will implement a weighted price increase on replacement automotive parts. Actual increases will vary slightly from one product category to another."

 

I would wager because of the dimensional weight pricing rules with the freight/parcel carriers is driving this, or at least in part. Auto parts industry were especially hit hard with this increase and they have since needed to engineer their parts boxes better. The less air you ship the better the cost.

 

So as fuel prices drop, shipping costs rise. Sounds good to me. :D

 

Fuel is a surcharge. If the carriers are smart they would have established a fuel schedule that covers their expenses as fuel changes, drops or spikes. Fuel is a red herring. Only when its over $4.00/gal does it become a bone of contention with a shipper.

Dimensional weight is where dimensions of a box or skid effects the cost in addition to the weight of the product. A 12x12x12 inch box that weights 15 pounds may cost $10 for example going CT to MI. Now do a 24x24x24 box at 15 pounds going the same lane, but it now costs $40 dollars. This is the mechanism now being employed with companies like UPS and Fedex. For the auto parts industry this is a death sentence. Auto parts companies have been trying their hardest to engineer the "fluff" out of there shipping box size. The less air space you ship the better your shipping cost will be.

Its the age old shipping pillows versus shipping bricks, its a density problem. The guy shipping bricks is going to pay less shipping cost than a guy shipping pillows because it occupies more space on the truck.

 

Just put bricks on the pillows. Problem solved!

 

Someone on another forum explained it this way:

"A weighted price increase percentage is the number derived from the new price of each item applied over the entire offering and based on the sales of each item over a given period of time, usually one year. Some parts could go up 10% and some could go up 50%. The old price x total unit sales compared to the new price x total units sales represents the weighted increase."

 

That would explain the product cost increase. I was referring to the component cost of shipping. That explanation coupled with my shipping explanation accounts for the overall increase in cost.

 

i work in the collision & insurance sector where i live. i learned that honda is starting to price match the aftermarket parts suppliers regarding body parts. this could also be a reason for a slight increase.....

 

Here in Canada parts from the dealer are crazy expensive compare to prices in Usa