The U.S. average length of replacement rental (LOR) increased to 11 days in the third quarter of 2014, a slight increase over the average third quarter LOR for the last five years, according to Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

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.

“Several factors are likely contributing to the increase in LOR, including increasingly complex vehicles and an overall downward trend in the number of repair centers compared to previous years, as well as major weather events,” said Frank LaViola, Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s assistant vice president of collision industry relations.

While the national average increased to 11 days — up 0.3 days from Q3 last year — not all U.S. regions experienced an increase in their year-over-year LOR, says Enterprise.

Enterprise started sharing length of rental information — at no cost — with collision repair centers five 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, as well as generate monthly reports through ARMS.

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