Trio of US Tyre Makers Raising Prices

Bridgestone, Continental and Yokohama have become the latest tyre suppliers in the US to announce price rises for consumer products. All three companies’ new prices are valid as of January 1, 2010.

Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations will increase prices on “certain passenger and light truck tyres for both the original equipment and replacement markets” by up to five per cent. These price adjustments cover the company’s Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand products. “The steady increase in raw materials and energy costs made it necessary for us to take this action,” said Michael Gorey, president, US & Canada Consumer Tire, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations. “While we are successfully implementing measures at all levels of our company to enhance our efficiencies and increase our productivity, those efforts are simply not enough to overcome the escalation of raw material costs.” 

Prices on Continental Tire North America products will also go up by as much as five per cent. This increase applies to all Continental, General Tire and proprietary brand passenger and light truck tyres in the United States, with specific price increases varying according to market line and/or tyre size. Conti gives increasing costs as the reason for the new prices.

Yokohama Tire will boost prices on all consumer tyres by up to six per cent, a move it claims to be making in response to “a continued rise in the cost of raw materials and transportation.” The price rises affect passenger, performance and light truck tyres. Yokohama also states that some in-line adjustments will be announced “at a later date.” Shan Denlein, Yokohama Tire’s director of sales, Consumer Products, stated “it was a difficult decision to raise prices, and we held off as long as we could. Unfortunately, the costs of some raw materials, energy and transportation continue to escalate, leaving us no option.” Yokohama Tire executive vice president and COO, Jim MacMaster, added that “today’s business climate makes it a challenge to contain costs.”