Truck Tyres
(Akron/Tire Review) Four more tyre companies jumped on the price hike bandwagon yesterday, following up on increases announced recently by Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, Michelin North America, Pirelli Tire North America and Continental Tire North America.
Pirelli Tire North America will increase prices for its passenger and light truck tyres by 5 per cent. The price increase with be effective from 1 June in the US and Canada. Pirelli is the latest in a string of price increases from major manufacturers in the US.
“Unfortunately, the best news is the worst news for many Russian news agencies,” according to Sibur press attaché, Anna Stepanova. The Russian tyre manufacturer’s spokesperson made these comments in response to reports stating that the company had reduced first quarter tyre production by 25.5 per cent. While the reports were not inaccurate, Sibur’s management does not agree with the conclusions drawn by Russia’s Analytical News Agency (ANA) and says that numbers went down due to production improvements and capacity transfers.
The last year has been eventful for Cooper Tire & Rubber. First the company sold its Cooper Standard business, then it bought an 11 per cent stake in Korean manufacturer Kumho Tire, now the company’s management is optimistic that it is “in the middle of a transformation.” Tire Review’s Jim Smith met Cooper president and CEO, Tom Dattilo, and found out his thoughts on the diverse diverse subjects of emerging markets, run-flat technology and how Cooper can enhance its position as a global player.
This year Trelleborg is 100 years young. The company’s name is fairly well recognised in the UK market but there is still room for improvement. Ask where the company comes from, what it’s up to on the UK market, or how Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS) fits into the picture and the response is often vague. However the manufacturer is addressing these brand awareness issues and is beginning to focus more and more on its agricultural division as well as marketing itself as a specialist in agricultural tyres. Tyres & Accessories spoke to Ian Gillespie, managing director of Trelleborg Wheel Systems UK, to discern its UK market approach.
Amtel Holdings Holland NV has completed its acquisition of Vredestein Banden BV from Vredestein Investment Consortium (VICO) for 195.6 million euros in cash. Amtel says it plans to use the opportunity to expand its global operations in Europe, Asia, the former Soviet Union and North America. Combined production capacity will now amount to around 22 million tyres a year.
(Akron/Tire Review) Kumho Tire USA plans to increase prices on passenger, light truck and commercial truck tyres from the first of June. Depending on the type of tyre, prices will increase up to by up 8 per cent, according to the manufacturer. Continuing price increases for raw materials and rising shipping costs were the reasons cited by David Hudrlik, vice president and director of sales at Kumho. The last time Kumho raised prices was 1 October 2004.
(Akron/Tire Review) Bridgestone executives along with members of the Mexican government gathered in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, to celebrate breaking ground for the company’s new BIRD based tyre plant. Representatives from Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc. (BAH), Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire (BFNAT) and Bridgestone/Firestone Mexico, SA. de CV (BFMX) were all present.
(Akron/Tire Review) Michelin North America (MNA) has announced price increases affecting passenger and light truck tyres. OE and replacement tyre prices for Michelin, BFGoodrich, Uniroyal and private and associate brands sold in Canada, Mexico and the US will increase by up to 8 per cent, the tyre maker said. The increases are effective in July and result from “continuing increases in raw material costs,” according to MNA.
Cooper has reported a sharp drop in profits as it feels the effect of the month long strike at its Arkansas plant. Publishing its first quarter results the company said is made $5.2 million or 7 cents per share for the period ended 31 March, compared with $24.3 million (32 cents per share) the year before.
Goodyear Canada has announced that it will construct a new truck retreading factory in Beloeil replacing the existing facility Ville St-Laurent.
The move represents a “strategic choice for Goodyear Canada” said Mr Bernard Plante, general manager for Goodyear Canada. 5.2 million Canadian dollars will be invested in the project, which will produce a 69,000 sq ft building.
(Akron/Tire Review) Initial analysis of NHTSA’s final regulations mandating tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) on all new passenger vehicles shows the new regulations are badly flawed, raising questions about how well they will protect drivers.
And they illustrate clearly just how much sway the car manufacturer lobby has with the safety agency, and how little consideration the logical and correct argument raised by the tyre industry and the automotive aftermarket really received.
Michelin will supply the tyres for the eight Renault Trucks vehicles taking part in the Silk Road 2005 expedition between 2nd April and 9th June. The teams will travel 20 000 km across Europe, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrghyztan and the Inner Mongolian region of China, following the path of the legendary Silk Road. Michelin will fit the trucks with specially designed all-terrain tyres, sized 395/85 R20 XZL.
The first two months of this year were disappointing for all tyre manufacturers present in Europe. The European replacement market volume for passenger car tyres dropped six per cent and nine per cent for truck tyres.
In comparison the Americans performed better. The replacement market grew three per cent for passenger car tyres and10 per cent for truck tyres.
Pirelli has announced that it has embarked on exclusive negotiations with RoadOne Tyre Co Ltd, a market leader in conveyor belt manufacturing. The new joint venture is to be based in Shandong Province and will manufacture large all-steel radial truck tyres for the domestic market and other export markets in South East Asia. Pirelli sees its latest move confirming its strategy in China, the world’s fastest growing market for road transportation. Negotiations with RoadOne Tyre began after some of the conditions stated in the company’s Letter of Intents with Aeolus Tyre (2004) could not be met.
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