Repair and maintenance services subsector, 2021

Released: 2023-01-30

Businesses in the repair and maintenance services subsector generated $34.3 billion in operating revenue in 2021, an increase of 8.2% from 2020. Operating expenses rose 7.6% to $31.1 billion. The profit margin increased from 8.8% in 2020 to 9.3% in 2021.

The repair and maintenance subsector includes three industry groups. The automotive repair and maintenance industry group generated 62.9% of the subsector's operating revenue. Combined, the electronic and precision equipment repair and maintenance group and the commercial and industrial machinery and equipment repair and maintenance group generated the remaining 37.1% of revenue.

The automotive repair and maintenance industry group shows strong growth

Firms in the automotive repair and maintenance industry group earned $21.6 billion in operating revenue in 2021, 7.4% more than in 2020. Total operating expenses also grew (+6.8%) to $19.6 billion, while salaries, wages, commissions and benefits rose 5.8% to $5.9 billion. The profit margin increased slightly to 8.9%.

The four provinces with the greatest proportion of the industry group's operating revenue were Ontario (36.0%), Quebec (20.7%), Alberta (15.7%) and British Columbia (14.7%).

The majority of sales in the automotive repair and maintenance industry group were to individuals and households (62.9%), followed by businesses (33.4%).

The cost of goods sold (43.9%) was the main operating expense for this industry group, followed by salaries, wages, commissions and benefits (30.2%) and rental and leasing (5.5%).

Non-automotive repair and maintenance generate $12.7 billion in revenue

The electronic and precision equipment repair and maintenance industry group and the commercial and industrial machinery and equipment repair and maintenance industry group earned a combined operating revenue of $12.7 billion in 2021, an increase of 9.5% from one year earlier.

Operating expenses rose 9.0% to $11.5 billion, and salaries, wages, commissions and benefits increased by 7.0% to $3.8 billion. This resulted in a profit margin of 9.8% in 2021.

As in previous years, Alberta (32.5%) had the largest share of operating revenue for these industry groups, followed by Ontario (26.8%), Quebec (18.2%) and British Columbia (11.5%).

The majority of sales in these industry groups were to businesses (80.3%), followed by governments, not-for-profit organizations and public institutions (6.7%).

The cost of goods sold made up 38.8% of the operating expenses of these industry groups, followed by salaries, wages, commissions and benefits (33.2%).

Looking at 2022 

Repair and maintenance services generally faced positive demand trends in 2022. Increased costs for new vehicles related to supply chain issues as well as long wait times to purchase and receive new vehicles have made consumers look to the used-vehicle market or consider repairing their existing car. This largely benefitted the repair and maintenance subsector. In addition, car commuting in Canada was up nearly 20% in May 2022 compared with May 2021, as more people returned to the workplace.

Moreover, as capital expenditures on non-residential construction and machinery and equipment continued to rise in the first three quarters of 2022, coupled with strong energy prices, heavy machinery and commercial equipment repair and maintenance are expected to have benefitted.

A complete financial picture for the 2022 reference year will be provided when survey data are published near the end of 2023.

Contact information

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