Final Thoughts

By Michael E. Wilson, ARA Chief Executive Officer michael@a-r-a.org ARA Secures Critical Part Number Data for Automotive Recycling Industry

s has been previously reported, ARA staff and leadership have worked dili- gently over the past several years to secure critical parts data from the automakers. As noted on page 70 of this issue, ARA scored a significant hard-fought victory in this pursuit on November 8th when Con- gressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) secured passage of an amendment to the com- prehensive Highway bill that would require automakers to provide access to original equipment parts numbers, part names and part descriptions.

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United States’ automotive recyclers who recall their high school civics class, however, realize that the House action is just part of the process to pass a provision into law. In the weeks after the provision passed the House, conference represen- tatives from both the House and Senate negotiated a compromise merged bill since the measure that had previously passed the Senate was so different from the House legislation. In early December, the House and Senate conference representatives brought a compromise bill to both chambers for consideration and a final vote. ARA is happy to report that the 1,300 page com- promise legislation included a provision that requires automotive manufacturers to provide original equipment (OE) parts data for recalled components. ARA has worked tirelessly to secure the critical parts language in the bill which the President has signaled his intent to sign into law before the middle of December. As mentioned, this new law when enacted will require automakers to make publicly available the OE part names, part descriptions and part numbers of a vehicle’s defective components that are subject to a recall. This is a significant step forward in ARA’s quest for motor vehicle parts data. For the first time, there will be federal statutory language mandating manufacturers to make OE

74 Automotive Recycling | November-December 2015

part numbers available to the public. This language is a critical step as it pro- vides a basis for ARA action in the coming months to work with regulators to secure electronic access to part num- bers of recalled components tied to Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs). ARA would like to thank our supporters in Congress –most notably Congressman Kinzinger and Senator John Thune of South Dakota who helped champion our quest for this critical OE parts lan- guage. We also appreciate ARA leadership, associate members and other stakeholders who contributed on our behalf. ARA’s efforts are far from over. In the coming weeks, ARA’s leadership and staff will be working with regulators to ensure that this parts data is provided electronically versus the current and very outdated Portal Document Format (PDF) file format that is submitted today. Additionally, ARA will be pressing regula- tors to secure access to specific VINs for names, part descriptions and part num- bers that can be more easily integrated into recyclers’ inventory management systems versus a list of VIN ranges. ARA will continue to emphasize to pol- icymakers that it is only with access to specific VIN numbers tied to the parts information (part names, part descrip- tions, part numbers) that the industry’s commercial inventory management sys- tem (IMS) providers will have the ability to develop software to automatically and electronically identify the defective recall parts in the automotive supply chain, sig- nificantly helping NHTSA reach its 100% recall remedy goal. ARA will also reiterate to policymakers that it is only with elec- tronic access to part numbers associated with specific VINs that professional auto- motive recyclers can comply with the TREAD Act of 15 years ago in which Congress prohibited the sale of non- remedied recalled automotive parts.

Other points that ARA staff and leader- ship will continue to use to educate poli- cymakers are that automakers are accountable for the safety of all original equipment parts throughout their life- cycle and must be required to share in the most efficient electronic manner the parts information that is necessary to identify and locate recalled defective parts within the recycled original equipment parts population. ARA also stresses its position that the practice of sharing orig- inal equipment parts numbers with pro- fessional automotive recyclers should not be an anomaly or provided in the least usable manner, but rather this data must be provided electronically and become standard automotive industry practice. ARA notes that consumer demand for a safe and vibrant replacement parts market makes it imperative that Congress requires automakers to remove the barriers they have constructed on parts data availability to the professional automotive recyclers. ARA will continue to press U.S. policy- makers to follow the lead of their European colleagues by adopting regula- tions that require automakers to provide independent operators with the VIN, OE parts numbers, OE naming of the parts, and validity attributes for all motor vehicles. ARA will also continue to edu- cate all stakeholders about how access to part numbers can improve consumer safety and supply chain decisions. We will not stop in its efforts to compel the automobile manufacturer communi- ty to truly live up to its new safety culture. If manufacturers are serious that a focus on safety is the “new normal” they will eliminate decades old data restrictions by working together with professional auto- motive recyclers and providing them with access to the same part numbers already provided to dealer networks, the insurance industry, and the collision repair community.