We posted on Jan. 19 about the question in the recent IRN study Industry in Transition: The Dynamics of Supplier-Customer Power which asked suppliers how their power relative to that of customers had changed over the last few years. Fifty-seven percent of the survey respondents felt that their power had increased. On Tuesday we looked at these respondents arrayed by company size. Today our inquiring minds wondered how those who are feeling powerful look when arrayed by product area. The chart below shows the distribution of the Powerful vs. the overall survey respondents.

Product areas where those who feel increased relative power are more numerous than their overall presence in the survey are: Body Exterior; Electrical/Electronics; and, most strongly, Powertrain. Suspension suppliers were equally represented in the overall survey results and in the set of Increased Power, while Interior suppliers and those in the Other category were slightly less likely to be feeling the surge. But the good news is that suppliers appear to be regaining their footing regardless of where they operate.