Obviously, ever rising new tire and fuel pump prices are at play here. But so is the current “Green” trend.
A recent study in Europe concluded that retreaded tires produce significantly less carbon emissions than new tires. The study showed that the manufacture of a 17.5-inch new tire produces 86.9 kg of CO2 emissions vs. 60.5 kg of CO2 for an equivalent retread, a saving of 26.4 kg or a 30% reduction in emissions.
Across the other pond, Bridgestone Corp. is leveraging its Bandag subsidiary to open a series of passenger tire retread shops/retail stores in Japan. Twenty such shops are planned in the test marketing effort.
Old friend Harvey Brodsky, head of TRIB, weighed in on the subject in one of his recent newsletters:
“Although many readers of this newsletter may think that I have lost my mind, after much thought I seriously believe that we may see a resurgence of passenger retreading in North America and other parts of the world.
“I don’t expect to see 13-inch and other small size tires being retreaded, but the larger size tires, along with light truck and high performance tires are perfect candidates, PROVIDING the casings are suitable for another useful life.
“The timing couldn’t be better since the Green movement is finally being taken seriously by public sector fleets along with a large – and growing – segment of the motoring public.
“I have been invited to make a presentation about passenger retreading at an upcoming conference in September.
“This could be a very interesting growth opportunity for our industry.
“I’ve been driving on retreads for over 30 years and back when I first got into the retread industry, one out of every five replacement tires sold in the U.S. was a retread!
“I’d really like to hear from readers regarding whether you think it is a good or bad idea, along with your reasons.”
So would I. Send your comments to Harvey at [email protected]. Hit me up at [email protected].
