One of the biggest reasons shop owners use the PMA 2026 Benchmark Report, or any benchmark report for that matter, is to see how their business stacks up against the competition. But before you start comparing numbers, there’s one important question to answer:

How do I know if I’m comparing my shop to the right shops?

The truth is that your shop isn’t exactly like anyone else’s.

A diesel shop in Texas doesn’t operate like a European shop in Maine. A rural general repair shop faces different challenges than an urban import specialist. If you’re comparing yourself to the wrong benchmark, you can easily draw the wrong conclusions. That’s one of the reasons we continue expanding our Benchmark Report every year.

Location Isn’t Destiny

One thing that stood out to me this year was how much geography influences results—but probably not in the way you’d expect.

For example, the Southeast posted the highest average profitability in our data, while the Southwest came in at the bottom. Does that mean every shop in the Southeast is thriving and every shop in the Southwest is struggling? Of course not.

In fact, some of our highest-performing individual shops came from places people wouldn’t necessarily expect.

The takeaway isn’t that location determines success. It’s that every market creates different conditions, and you need to understand those conditions before making business decisions.

Profit is Bigger Than Labor Rate

The report also reinforced another important lesson: labor rate alone doesn’t tell the whole story.

One region averaged some of the highest labor rates in the country yet produced some of the lowest profitability. Meanwhile, other regions charged less per hour but kept a much larger percentage of their revenue as profit.
Why? Because profitability is never about one number.

Labor rate matters. Productivity matters. Parts margins matter. Overhead matters. You can’t look at a single metric in isolation and expect it to explain everything happening inside your business. That’s why I always encourage shop owners to look at the complete picture.

Efficiency Beats Size

We also examined whether bigger shops automatically make more money.
The answer? Not really.

Once again, efficiency beat size.

Whether a shop generated well over a million dollars a year or operated at a smaller scale, profitability was remarkably similar. Higher sales don’t guarantee higher profits if your systems aren’t working.

Benchmark Against Similar Shops

The same pattern showed up when we broke the data down by shop type.
General repair shops, diesel shops, and European specialists all operate differently. European shops typically charge higher labor rates and often achieve stronger technician productivity. Diesel shops frequently handle larger repair orders. General repair shops usually benefit from lower operating costs and broader customer demand.

Each business model has its own strengths—and its own challenges.
That’s exactly why benchmarking by shop type matters. Comparing a diesel operation to a general repair shop isn’t always an apples-to-apples comparison.

Percentages Don't Tell the Whole Story

One point I always want shop owners to remember is this:

Percentages don’t pay your bills. Dollars do.

Sometimes a lower margin on a larger repair generates more actual profit than a higher margin on a smaller job. Context matters. That’s why I caution people against chasing a single percentage without understanding what’s driving it.

Opportunity Remains

Beyond the financial data, we also expanded this year’s report with more industry outlook information.

Parts costs continue to be a concern. The technician shortage isn’t getting any easier. Hybrid vehicles continue gaining ground in repair shops.

And one statistic really jumped out at me: more than 40% of the vehicles on the road are overdue for service.

To me, that’s opportunity.

Yes, customers are delaying maintenance. Yes, many households are feeling financial pressure. But those repairs don’t disappear forever. Deferred maintenance eventually becomes necessary repairs.

The shops that remain profitable, communicate well with customers, and continue building strong systems will be in the best position to capture that work.

That’s really what this entire benchmark series has been about.

The goal isn’t to make your shop look like someone else’s.

The goal is to help you understand where you are today, learn from businesses facing similar challenges, and make smarter decisions moving forward.

Every successful shop has its own story.

The best benchmark is simply the one that helps you write a better next chapter.

To get a free copy of PMA’s 2026 Benchmark report, click here.