Archived Copies of Warranty Week

December 2002 to Today

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.
July 1, 2021
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.
April 15, 2021
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
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
GE & UTC Service Contract Estimates: Their jet engine operations may generate billions a year in service contract revenue, as evidenced by the tens of billions of dollars in deferred revenue carried on their balance sheets. But without hard numbers to go by, we have to estimate the size of their protection programs.
August 2, 2018
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.
June 30, 2016
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.
April 24, 2014
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.
June 9, 2011
Ford's Powertrain Warranties: How does a carmaker get people talking about product quality and confidence? By lengthening the warranty on the engine and transmission. But it didn't work so well for Chrysler, so why should it work for Ford?
July 25, 2006
Diesel engine makers deliver upbeat quarterly results.  
April 28, 2003