Service departments were busier in January than the month before and revenue continued to grow, according to the latest analysis of Xtime data by Cox Automotive.

The Xtime Repair Order Volume Index of 82.4 for January represented a 2.7% increase from December and a 1.3% drop from January 2023.

Service department revenue remained strong, with the January index up 3.3% over December at 137.7. That’s also a 4.3% rise year-over-year and a giant leap of 37.7% from January 2019, which Cox Automotive said has been driven in large part by inflation.

“In spite of the severe winter weather across the U.S. in mid-January, vehicle owners kept their service appointments,” Cox Automotive director of product consulting Skyler Chadwick said. “This is good news for dealership service departments as they continue to drive significant profit through fixed operations.”

The monthly Xtime volume and revenue metrics are designed to show average service department performance over time, with the information indexed to January 2019.