2009 Market Influencers

For the last 10 years, Tire Review editors have shined a clear spotlight on the issues, people, companies and products we think will have a significant impact on the North American tire market in the coming year. Sometimes we’ve been right, sometimes we’ve been dead wrong, and sometimes we have really been out there – but for the past decade Tire Review’s annual Market Influencers has become the best read, most referenced and most discussed part of our annual Sourcebook.

Tire Review’s Market Influencers was the first to recognize the impact of China and its growing tire industry, the first to point out the upward pressure raw materials costs would place on dealers, the first to reveal the real impact of this nation’s economic mess, the first to discuss hybrid vehicles, globalization, trade unions, super wide tires, capacity issues and much more.

As you will quickly see, this year’s Market Influencers is weighted heavily on issues related to the global economic meltdown and its potential ramifications. And there are a number of new entries that we think will have a prolific impact on our industry. Plus, we’ll take a look back at last year’s list to see how well our predictions fared. Hint: We had a pretty good year!

Click here to see 2009 Market Influencers

This a purely subjective list, determined by the editors from a list of suggestions gathered over the past year. Tire Review’s editor makes the final selection.

Agree? Disagree? Whichever side you are on, we’d love to hear your take on Market Influencers. Letters, e-mails or phone calls are always welcome. And if you have some candidates for next year’s list, please pass them along.

If you’re a shop looking to sell summer tires, it’s important to know that customers looking for these tires have very specific needs. Let’s talk about why, before recommending summer tires, you need to fully understand customer performance requirements.

Unlike all-season or all-terrain tires built for diverse driving conditions, UHP summer tires are designed with one priority: dry and wet traction for performance driving. Lateral and longitudinal grip in dry and wet conditions are also important, which is achieved through optimized contact patches, high silica tread compounds and circumferential grooves to channel water. Generally, UHP summer tire tread design features large blocks and fewer grooves for more road contact on dry surfaces. The grooves are designed to channel water away from the tire, reducing the risk of hydroplaning on wet roads.