Replacement Battery Sales Up In May - BCI

NEW YORK, Sept 18, 2002 Reuters reported that North American shipments of replacement automotive batteries in the first five months of 2002 rose 5.62 percent from a year earlier, while original equipment auto battery shipments fell 4.65 percent, an industry group said this week.

Replacement battery shipments from January through May totaled 33,539,883 units, while original equipment shipments reached 8,743,782 units, the Battery Council International (BCI) said in a report.

In the year-ago period, replacement battery shipments totaled 31,755,336 units and original equipment shipments reached 9,169,729 units, BCI said.

Replacement shipments in May 2002, the latest month for which data was available, gained 6.97 percent from April 2002 to 7,669,018 units. Shipments in April totaled 7,169,532 units.

In the original equipment category, shipments in May rose 3.3 percent to 1,865,894 units from April's 1,806,348 units.

Replacement batteries are shipped to parts dealers and wholesalers, while original equipment batteries are usually shipped to auto manufacturers.

BCI's data includes shipments in the United States, Mexico and Canada of lead-acid batteries, used for starting, lighting and ignition purposes in automotive and marine applications.