Posted labor rates for U.S. collision shops changed little for a second straight month in August, even as annual growth rebounded to its strongest pace of the year across all four categories tracked by National Autobody Research (NABR), according to updated data from the company.
The three summer months were relatively calm compared with the increases logged earlier in the year. Body and frame rates finished August within a few cents of where they stood in June, refinish rates were unchanged over the same span, and mechanical rates slipped about 0.6%. The exception was June itself, when all four categories posted their largest single-month gains of 2026 before growth slowed sharply in July and August.
Rates held mostly flat for a second straight month
Measured against July specifically, body rates dipped 2 cents to $85.48 an hour in August, refinish rates rose 3 cents to $84.56, frame rates fell 22 cents to $116.68 and mechanical rates fell 51 cents to $161.75, according to the data. Body and refinish rates were essentially flat month over month in percentage terms, while frame slipped 0.2% and mechanical slipped 0.3%.
Annual growth rebounded to new highs after July's dip
Year-over-year growth resumed climbing in August, with all four categories posting their highest annual percentage gains of 2026 to date. Body rates rose 6.8% from August 2025, up from 6.0% in July. Refinish rates rose 5.6%, up from 4.8%. Frame rates rose 6.6%, up from 5.7%. Mechanical rates, which have shown the steepest annual growth of the four categories all year, rose 13.2%, up from 11.3% in July.
Annual growth climbed steadily from January through June across all four categories. It eased slightly in July for body, refinish and mechanical, while frame held exactly flat, before all four rebounded in August to their highest levels of 2026.
Shops are urged to keep survey responses current
Even as labor rates grow year over year, Sam Valenzuela of NABR presumes that LaborRateHero’s reported rates would likely be even higher with wider body shop participation in the rate survey and shops reporting their posted rates more frequently. NABR sends shops automated monthly or quarterly emails asking whether the rates on file with LaborRateHero are still current, he said, and shops can respond with a single click.
Confirming an unchanged rate takes 5 seconds, according to Valenzuela, while updating a rate takes about 2 minutes. He said responding to those emails, even just to confirm no change, directly affects the market labor rate data NABR reports each month.
This is the third installment of the Labor Rate Index, a recurring feature Autobody News is developing with NABR to track posted labor rates monthly across body, refinish, frame, and mechanical work. Last month's installment found annual growth ticking down slightly from June's peak across most categories, a dip that August's data reversed.
Data Methodology
NABR's data comes from labor rates shops post themselves, rather than rates negotiated with individual insurers. LaborRateHero enables shops to input their posted labor rates rather than insurer-contracted rates to gain insight into industrywide pricing trends.
NABR has also pushed back on the industry's use of the term "prevailing rate" to describe labor pricing. On its website, the company states "there is not one single labor rate in a market," saying rates instead vary based on a shop's location, capability, the vehicle involved, and the type of repair performed.
