The U.S. average length of replacement rental (LOR) slightly increased to 11.5 days overall in calendar year 2015, according to Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Compared with 2014, the LOR increased 0.3 days and was up 0.08 days from 2010.

Data gathered by Enterprise’s Automated Rental Management System (ARMS) tracks the length of time a replacement vehicle is rented to collision center customers and is considered a proxy for vehicle repair time.

“Lower gas prices and an increase in miles driven have contributed to an increase in accident frequency, as more vehicles are on the road,” said Dan Friedman, Enterprise’s assistant vice president of collision industry relations and strategic sales. “Total loss vehicles have also increased over the past two years, contributing to the rise in LOR.”

The upward trend in cycle time continued in Q4 2015. The U.S. average LOR for the quarter was 11.9 days overall, up 0.5 days from Q4 2014, according to Enterprise.

California, as a region, saw the largest increase in LOR – up one full day over the year-ago quarter. An increase in accidents due to El Nino-related weather events likely played a role in the fourth quarter rise. This trend is expected to continue into the first quarter of 2016.

The Mountain region experienced the only regional decline in LOR, dropping 0.2 days to 12 overall. The largest decrease came from Wyoming, which was down 0.9 days. Colorado followed closely behind with a 0.5 day decrease, according to Enterprise.

Enterprise began sharing length of rental information — at no cost — with collision repair centers six years ago in an effort to highlight below-market-average cycle times as well as provide critical performance data for consistent industrywide comparisons, says the company.

ARMS data helps collision repair centers increase operating efficiencies, enhance customer service and streamline communications with insurance companies and customers, says Enterprise. Repair centers can track, measure and forecast labor needs, and generate monthly reports through ARMS.

For more information on Enterprise’s ARMS, visit www.armsautosuite.com.