“At the end of Q3 2007 we announced that we would be reviewing prices on a quarterly basis due to the soaring price of natural rubber,” he said. “As a result of that continued rise in raw material costs we are today announcing a price increase of between 6% and 10% dependent on country and currency.

“Whilst rubber prices increased by 12% in 2006, they have leapt by an astounding 35% over the last 12 months,” he said. “If rubber prices remain at these levels further similar tire price increases are to be expected in the second half of the year. As an industry, we have cut costs, created economies and reduced our margins, unfortunately we can no longer continue to absorb these increases and must pass them on to dealers and retailers.”

Mindermann  said the rise in rubber price has been driven increased demand from the Indian and Chinese automotive sectors and limited worldwide natural rubber production capacity.

“What this means for the forklift truck industry is that it can no longer continue to offer leases with fixed service and tire costs,” he said. “OEM dealers must now accept that they face a new paradigm in equipment leasing and will have to work closely with the tire producers to find a best value solution for customers. There will doubtless be a temptation to buy in cheaper tires from smaller producers but this is a false economy as the real measure for assessing value is the operating cost per hour.” (Tire Review/Akron)