Archived Copies of Warranty Week

December 2002 to Today

Truck, RV & Car Warranty Snapshots: The pandemic lockdowns hit the consumer vehicle makers hardest, and the farm equipment makers the least, as one would expect when commuting to the office is forbidden and food becomes an essential business. The good news is that the downturn may have hit bottom in the second quarter, with third-quarter data pointing towards a V-shaped recovery, as both sales and warranty accruals rise proportionally for many companies.
November 12, 2020
First Quarter Homebuilder Warranty Report: Those who expected a free-fall because of the lockdowns are likely to be pleasantly surprised how non-dire the data looks so far in early 2020. Then again, reports from the second quarter, which ends next week, are expected to show more extensive damage, in spite of all the partial reopenings.
June 25, 2020
Apple & Tesla Warranty Accounting: The third quarter numbers are coming in fast and furious now, and some investors and stock analysts are treating the warranty expense data as a leading indicator of a company's financial health. But there are limits to how quickly some bad numbers can turn into a trend or a scandal.
November 7, 2019
U.S. Auto OEM Warranty Expenses: Now that the second-quarter financial reports are all in, we take a look at the warranty metrics of the U.S.-based industry that manufactures cars, trucks, buses, and all sorts of other vehicles, both large and small. And while the overall totals and averages didn't shift much, some companies saw big changes in their warranty costs.
September 5, 2019
Homebuilder Warranty Report: All the metrics were up in 2018, and the growth continued into the first quarter of 2019. Claims and accruals are back to pre-recession levels, and warranty reserves hit a new record high. Meanwhile, the level of warranty expenses per new home sold show some curious and sudden spikes for some builders and long-term stability for others.
June 13, 2019
Warranty Adjustments: When a company finds that its actual warranty costs are above or below its predictions, it makes a change of estimate and adds or removes funds from its warranty reserve. While in general, removals are good and additions are bad, some companies seem to be correcting their estimates in every single quarter.
November 5, 2015
Supplier Recovery: If all the warranty expenses that were caused by suppliers were paid by suppliers, what would the industry split be between them and the OEMs that they supply? And are the OEMs now recovering a quarter of what they could, half of what they could, or three-quarters of what they could?
April 11, 2013
Semiconductor Warranties: The companies that make the equipment that makes the semiconductors pay for more than half of the industry's warranty costs, even though their sales are less than a quarter of the total. But they've also done the most to cut their costs since 2003.
May 3, 2012
RV Extended Warranties: As sales plummet, the nameplates are dropping like flies. But the dealers have to make a living, and they've found that extended warranties -- sold at a discount or practically given away -- are a great way to induce skittish buyers to drop a quarter million dollars or more on an otherwise as-is purchase.
June 11, 2009
Warranty Claims & Accrual Rates: Half the industry segments follow seasonal patterns, with claims and accrual rates peaking during the same quarter every year. Four segments are following downward trends while two are on upward slopes. But what's most surprising is how small the fluctuations have been over the past 15 quarters.
January 17, 2007
Product Warranty Spending: With most of the third quarter financial reports behind us, it's looking like warranty spending is up only slightly in 2006. But the changes at some of the top warranty providers are very large, in both dollar and percentage terms.
December 12, 2006
Automotive Warranties: As seen by its third quarter financial statements, Ford is catching up to GM, both in terms of revenue and warranty spending. Ford has now become only the second American manufacturer to ever pay out $1 billion or more in warranty claims per quarter. Meanwhile, other U.S.-based vehicle manufacturers have their own warranty ups and downs to report.
November 15, 2005
Automotive Warranty: The Big Three feel the bite of increased warranty costs in the first quarter just as sales begin to fall. But how can companies be compared over time if their accounting standards and even their currencies are different?
May 24, 2005
Warranty Claims & Accruals: While some U.S. manufacturers are still preparing their latest financial statements, most of the largest warranty providers have already announced their second quarter claims and accruals. While some of the top 50 are spending more on warranty than a year ago, most are spending less, and a few are spending a lot less.
August 17, 2004
Declining Warranty Claims: In both dollar amounts and as a percentage of product sales, warranty claims took a steep dive during the first quarter of 2004. Was it caused by cyclical factors? Was it due to rising sales? Or has there been a product quality improvement?
June 15, 2004
Warranty Claims: While some U.S. manufacturers are still preparing their latest financial statements, most of the largest warranty providers have already announced their first quarter claims and accruals. Half of the top 50 are spending more on warranty than a year ago while half are spending less.
May 18, 2004
The Warranty Reserve: Manufacturers apparently allowed their reserve fund balances to shrink by some $2 billion during the third quarter, not only because of a 4% rise in claims but also because of numerous downwards changes of estimate and cuts in accrual rates.
December 22, 2003
Warranty Claims: While hundreds of manufacturers have now filed financial reports detailing their warranty activity during the third quarter, it remains unclear why claims rose by more than five percent. Is it a seasonal fluctuation? Or is it proof that the recession is finally behind us? Here's a down payment on the answer, highlighting trends among the top 50 warranty providers.
December 8, 2003
Warranty in the IT Industry: Spending on warranty claims for everything from handheld computers to television transmitters showed a very slight increase during the second quarter, while both claims rates and reserve fund balances were down. Collectively, some 259 IT equipment manufacturers spent almost $2 billion honoring warranty claims during the period.
September 22, 2003
Warranty in the Auto Industry: Spending on warranty claims showed a slight decrease during the second quarter, while claims rates and reserve fund balances were both up and down. Here are the details.
September 15, 2003
The Warranty Week 500 Most of the major players in warranty claims management recently reported details about their warranty reserve funds, claims and accruals during the second quarter. Here are the summary results.
September 8, 2003
GM's Warranty Reserves:  Both GM and Ford made sizeable withdrawals from their reserve funds during the second quarter. GM cited increased product quality. But analysts said the move lowered earnings quality. Ford said nothing, and nothing was said. What's behind the changes of estimate?
August 18, 2003
Home is Where the Warranty Is: Most of the major homebuilders recently reported details about their first quarter warranty spending. Here are the results, organized into segments for site-built homes, motorized recreational vehicles, and prefabricated/manufactured homes.
June 16, 2003
Introducing the Warranty Week 500: Most of the major players in warranty claims management recently reported details about their first quarter spending. Here are the results, organized by industry.
June 9, 2003