Across the Atlantic they are called tires, while over here we use a “Y” and say tyres. This tag provides the latest tyre business news emanating from the United States of America (USA), whichever way you spell it.
Despite intense pressures facing the wider tyre industry, on 8 May 2020 Cooper Tire & Rubber Company maintained a long unbroken streak of quarterly dividends, when it declared a dividend of 10.5 cents per share on common stock, payable 26 June 2020 to stockholders of record at the close of business 1 June 2020. This is the 193rd consecutive quarterly dividend paid by Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.
TECH Europe has partnered with Italmatic as its new distributor in Italy. According to the company, the news means Italmatic is “positioned now more than ever to offer a complete line of tyre repair materials and wheel service solutions to the Italian market, which includes everything from motorbike to OTR repairs, along with the essential chemicals and tools to ensure a safe and high quality repair”.
Nokian Tyres reports that the shutdown which began on 27 March in response to COVID-19 ended on Monday 27 April with the reopening of its factory in the USA. Some plant employees have returned to work for the start of a phased reopening process. The company’s factory in Russia resumed production on 6 April.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company intends to permanently end production at its Gadsden factory in Alabama, USA. The company says this closure comes as part of its strategy to “strengthen the competitiveness of its manufacturing footprint by curtailing production of tyres for declining, less profitable segments of the tyre market.”
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is set to open its manufacturing plants in the United States and Serbia next week (the week commencing Monday 27 April). The facilities have been temporarily closed for approximately five weeks due to coronavirus and its impacts. The company’s plant in Melksham, UK remains temporarily closed. And Cooper’s Mexico plant is to close temporarily.
Coker Tire Company, the world’s largest supplier of collector vehicle tyres and wheels, has expanded its product line with the addition of Dunlop Sport Classic radial tyres. Coker Tire described the range as “an excellent option for vintage European sports cars and some classic American muscle cars from the 1950s through the 1980s”.
Independent US tyre wholesaler Tire Group International is opening a new distribution facility in Tampa, Florida. The 50,000 square foot (4,650 square metre) centre will be operational as of 4 May and will carry all brands that TGI offers.
The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) has postponed its 2020 National Tire Safety Week campaign, which was scheduled to take place between 18 and 24 May, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
TBC Brands, one of the largest distributors of private brand tyres in North America, is offering an enhanced Sailun Advantage truck tyre warranty. According to the company, the new warranty programme is a “game-changing” combination of outstanding quality, competitive pricing, expansive product selection, enhanced warranties and multiple retreads.
In the USA, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced that it will extend the full capabilities of its Commercial Total Solution to carriers of all sizes in Convoy’s Digital Freight Network, in a statement on 9 April 2020. According to the company, Convoy is the first online discount programme Goodyear has offered through its commercial e-commerce platform GoodyearTruckTires.com.
The season start of many motorsport events has been delayed due to the coronavirus. Unable to get cars out on the track, US-based racecar driver development programme the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires has gone virtual with a new five-race e-series. This e-series allows drivers from Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship to compete against one another using race simulators.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company announced on Friday that its tyre manufacturing plants in North America will remain shuttered for at least another two weeks. The company began closing down its Findlay, Clarksdale, Tupelo and Texarkana facilities in the USA and El Salto plant in Mexico on 21 March and intended to shut them down for two two three weeks. It says the production pause is being extended both to protect the health and safety of employees and as a response to decreased market demand. Cooper will continue to closely monitor the situation and adjust timing as necessary.
Triangle Tyre is reporting that its four manufacturing plants in China are now back to operating at 90 per cent after the Chinese New Year and coronavirus shutdown.
Members of US Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) have applauded the U.S. Senate’s “unprecedented work to pass the largest economic relief package in U.S. history”. Now, the group respectfully urges the U.S. House of Representatives and President Trump to “expeditiously ensure this becomes law to provide a much-needed financial boost to American workers, American businesses” and the nation’s struggling economy.
Titan International, Inc., manufacturer of the Titan tyre brands as well as the Goodyear agricultural tyre lines sold in the UK, Europe and North America, says its plants are operating as normal during the COVID-19 crisis. The company describes its decision to maintain production as a “commitment to keeping its US manufacturing facilities operating as normal in order to support the food and agriculture industry.”
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Nokian Tyres
Coker Tire, Dunlop
Tire Group International