Good Times, Hard Times: With Global Demand Straining OTR Tire Supply, Dealers Must Again Look to Customer Service For Profit Growth, Experts Say
After five or so years of just scraping by, the North American OTR tire market is enjoying a happy problem – warehouse-emptying sales. In fact, the global OTR tire business is having the same problem. But that happy problem has created a larger, more ominous issue: inventories are virtually non-existent, backorders are heavy and manufacturers
Aligning Rigs
Several months ago, a trucking industry friend asked me, “How often should I align my trucks?” This is a fair question, to be sure, similar to those asked when establishing proper oil change intervals or setting time and mileage limits for cooling system maintenance. Before giving him a simple time interval, though, it occurred to
Patterns & Offsets: More New Bolt Pattern/Offset Combinations Have Emerged
More new bolt pattern/offset combinations have emerged in the last few years than in the last 20 years combined. Remember when there were only a dozen common bolt patterns, and almost everything had a standard offset? Oh, how I long for those days. Today, though, we have double that number, and it seems we are
Expanding Your Turf: There is Growth in the Commercial Lawn/Garden Tire Biz
If you’re an independent tire dealer or wholesaler serving the general public – directly or indirectly – you pay attention to consumer tires. Makes sense. After all, the real volume is in passenger and light truck tire sales. But volume is only one side of the profit equation. It’s no secret that margins in passenger
Back to Basics: Part 1: Beads and Sidewalls and What They Add to Performance
Did you know entry-level tire construction engineers, compounders and designers aren’t allowed to touch a new tire for a year or two? That’s because tire design and development isn’t part of any college curriculum. The making of a competent tire engineer isn’t the job of a college professor. That task belongs to veteran tire company
Flexible Benefit Plan
The concept of limiting the availability of commercial tire tread designs or model types has always been appealing to most fleets, large and small. However, decades have passed since it has been either practical or economical to apply a single tire type to all wheel positions. Nearly all fleets specify specialized tread designs for different
Wheel Anatomy: Part III
In the last of a series of three articles about how different types of wheels are made, we now turn our focus to three-piece designs. What are three-piece wheels? And, what is so great about them? As the name states, this type of wheel is an assembly of three components. Like a two-piece wheel, the
Flat-Out Profitable: A Little Digging Exposes New Opportunities in a 30-Plus-Year-Old Niche Market
Consider the power of this suggestion: No more flat tires. Ever. Nudging this concept into the realm of possibility is a group of products known by some as tire fill and by others as foam fill. Due to the variety of materials being used today, the most accurate term may be “flatproofing solutions.” Simply stated,
Winter Tire Blues: Auto Advances Add Complexity to Winter Tire Servicing
The snowflake branded on the sidewall of a winter tire isn’t there for decoration. The designation means the tire addresses three winter driving concerns: traction, cornering and braking. “Put on a set of today’s winter tires, and driving in the winter becomes irrelevant.” That’s a direct quote from long-time tire test driver Bob Strange, who
Shrewd Investing
Most experienced fleet managers and professional tire service providers appreciate the important role tires play in the overall operating cost equation for a trucking business. Much has been written and documented about the benefits of selecting the best tires for specific applications and vehicle configurations and then maintaining those tires to assure long service life.
Wheel Anatomy: Part II
Last month, we began a multi-part series on the concepting, design and production of today’s hot custom wheels with an inside look at cast one-piece aluminum wheels. This month, we’re going to touch on the newest forged one-piece wheels and then describe two-piece wheels. Forged wheels are literally forged in a press and made into
All the Right Moves: Secrets to Success in Growing Commercial LT Tire Market
Commercial light truck tire buyers are everywhere – if you know where to look. They are plumbing, HVAC or electrical contractors, construction companies and pick-up-and-delivery companies. They are regional/local delivery companies, public utilities, municipalities and many small, service-oriented outfits. Some don’t work for a company – they’re self-employed. Their specific lines of work may differ,