In news from the CRASH Network, reports of the demise of the U.S. auto body industry appears to premature. Indeed, the industry seems to be growing again after several years of moderate decline. U.S. Census Bureau data shows that in 2014 there are 33,763 auto body repair shops in the U.S., up from 30,738 in 1988. Employment numbers are also up, with 219,000 people employed in auto body repair, up from only 155,000 in 1992. The average number of employees per shop has also grown, from 4.7 in 1992 to 6.2 in 2012. The data does not include dealership auto body shops.