Congratulations to Leo Gerard and the rest of the crew at the USW. You got your wish. Your sly plan to leverage U.S. trade law to cut off supply of consumer tires from China is working. And some major tire companies ARE going to build new tire plants!
Now all you need to do is figure out how to relocate your members to India, Russia, Brazil and, oh yeah, China! Cause that’s where all these new low-cost plants are going.
Way to go boys!
In all seriousness, in the last few days there has been a spate of BRIC-n-mortar announcements from Michelin and Pirelli and Bridgestone – all of it precipitated on anticipation that Western tire markets are (and will remain) stagnant, while Eastern and South American markets are ripe.
Bridgestone and Michelin have signed on for expanded capacity in India. Michelin and Pirelli have big plans for Russia, and now Bib wants to expand in Brazil.
Don’t be surprised if a few more names get attached to projects in BRIC nations.