Imported Truck Tyres Gain Speed in Canada

Use of imported Chinese tyres on the increase in Canada. A recent survey of fleet managers conducted by Truck News found that 18 per cent of managers said their fleets had experimented with far eastern imported brands. The same was true of owner/operators.

However, customer perceptions of Double Coin, Triangle, Woosung, Double Diamond and Aeolus tyres are reportedly still low. Owner/operators were most generous in their praise, rating them as 1.9 out of five. Fleets on the other hand scored the products as 1.65.

Double Coin was the brand used most often by fleets and Aeolus the brand most used by owner/operators. These tyres were most commonly used on the trailer axles. However, the report found that roughly a quarter of fleets and owner/operators use these tyres in the drive position, with 16 and 9 per cent of owner/operators and fleets respectively using them on steer axles.

The report also found that these companies are paying higher than expected prices for the above products. While the vast majority are paying between $200 and $400 for offshore trailer tyres, 18 per cent of owner/operators and 4 per cent of fleets actually reported paying above $400.