Seven weeks into the United Steel Workers strike that shut down 16 Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plants in North America, retailers in Fort Wayne are watching their tire inventories carefully.

While many companies such as Sears and Discount Tire Co. anticipated the strike and built up a large tire inventory, they know the stockpiles won’t last indefinitely.

At Discount Tire Co. on Industrial Road, manager Mark White said that he has seen a few supply problems with some Goodyear tire sizes, but his overall stock of the brand is good.

“Our company is being proactive and grabbing as much as they can get,” White said.

But if the strike goes on much longer, White said that it will cause problems for tire retailers.

“Pretty soon, I think everybody will have issues,” White said. “When everybody starts knocking on the same doors, it’s going to eventually run out of product.”

White said he expects retailers will feel the effects of the strike most strongly in January and February, when he expects inventories will become depleted. White said his store will recommend other tire brands if Goodyear products run out, although he said his understanding is that the tire competition may not be able to fill the gap.

Goodyear’s top three brands, Goodyear, Kelly and Bridgestone, account for 19 percent of the consumer replacement (passenger/light truck) tire market.

Bill Hart, manager of the Sears Automotive Center on Coldwater Road, said that his Goodyear inventory is OK.

“Sears is a very large company. I’m sure they projected (for the strike) in advance,” Hart said.

Since Oct. 5, more than 12,000 Goodyear workers have been on strike because the company and United Steel Workers union could not agree on a contract. Three of the plants on strike are in Ohio. Among the toughest issues of conflict were the proposed closure of two U.S. plants, a pay cut for workers and pension plans for retirees.

Goodyear said it is working to minimize supply problems during the strike.

“We are at about 50 percent of pre-strike production, but every day, we are hiring more workers,” Goodyear spokesman Ed Markey said. As new workers are hired and trained, production is resuming on more sizes and types of tires.

“In certain sizes and types of tires, there is a little bit of a shortage, but that is being addressed as we ramp up production,” Markey said.

That might not be good enough if the strike continues much longer, said Kevin Tynan, a senior auto analyst for the Argus Research Group in New York.

“I don’t think… they’d be able to get to the (production) level they need to be,” Tynan said. “In the near term, if the supply is not there, people will not wait.”

Goodyear risks straining relationships with its dealer network if it cannot meet demand, Tynan said.

In the commercial market, one company, International Truck and Engine Corp., said that it is still getting Goodyear tires and has a backup supply plan if Goodyear can’t produce enough.

Like consumer tire retailers, International anticipated the strike and built up its inventory, company spokesman Roy Wiley said.

In an average week, Wiley said that International needs 7,500 tires for its operation.

Wiley also said that International does not rely completely on Goodyear for its tires.

“We have other suppliers, and we are using them as appropriate,” Wiley said.

While Wiley does not anticipate having a supply problem, he said that at times it can inconvenience International’s customers if specified tire sizes are not available.

“Our customers have the choice of either waiting or using a different size, it all depends on what the customer wants,” Wiley said.

United Steel Workers have started distributing fliers questioning the safety of Goodyear tires made by replacement workers.

However, neither Hart nor White had heard concerns about the Goodyear tires, and the company insists that its tires are safe.

“We know that the quality of our tires is as high as it has always been, and that’s all that really matters,” Markey said.