How Did We Do Today?
It’s widely accepted that gathering customer feedback can help a tire dealership better meet its clients’ expectations. After that, the clear-cut details start to fade. What’s the best way to gather feedback – and exactly what customer satisfaction data should be sought? And once you have the data in hand, how do you translate that
The Evolution of Ag
The first recorded attempt to use pneumatic farm tires was about 144 years ago in California’s San Joaquin Valley. The Thompson’s Rubber Tire Steamer was set up to pull seven plows and chug along at about 10 mph. It didn’t fare very well. The second attempt wasn’t until 47 years later in 1918 when International
Speed Ratings
Across the pond in Germany, portions of the famed Autobahn do not have speed limits, so high-speed driving is very much the norm. In spite of its tolerance of high speeds, the German government is also very safety conscious. In order to allow drivers to match the speed capability of the tires installed on their
Battles Loom for Auto Care Service Aftermarket
Tire dealers stand out among the auto care industry service outlets as one of the only segments to grow in total retail outlet population over the past eight years. Since 2006, the tire dealers have grown in number of outlets by 1.1% to 19,958 locations in 2014, while the rest of the service sector has
U.S. Tire Market Improvement on the Horizon
The most dependable way to predict the future is to understand the present. In this article, we’ll diagnose the health of the end-markets today and provide some directional guidance on tire demand going forward. The tire industry is highly correlated to GDP growth which has been growing in the low to mid-2% range recently versus
U.S. Economy Searching for its True North
By Dr. Timothy Nash and Dr. Keith Pretty The latest revision of first quarter 2015 U.S. GDP was revised upward to 0.6% with the first estimate of second quarter U.S. GDP reported at 2.3% growth as of July 31. Early estimates predicted that GDP would improve to perhaps as high as 2.4% growth in the
OTR a Real Mixed Bag
The off-the-road tire segment of the overall tire industry is, admittedly, a niche market. But, at roughly 10% of the global $170-plus billion tire industry, it is a sizeable niche and one that provides some interesting opportunities for all commercial tire dealers, whether they consider themselves OTR sellers or not. Last year, a good friend
Ag: Still a Tough Row to Hoe
This certainly is not your father’s agricultural tire market. In these increasingly volatile times, people and events across the globe are more connected in more ways than ever before. Extreme drought conditions in the Western U.S. and historical wet conditions in other areas of the Americas impact crop prices in Europe. Raw material prices in
China: Exposed and Explained
When Jim Smith, editor of Tire Review, asked me to write this piece, he said, “Americans don’t really understand how China works.” So he asked me to try and explain it in 1,800 words, more or less. In some ways, China is similar to the U.S. The consumer tire market is completely different from the
Preparing for Chip Cards and the EMV Switch
Gone are the days of credit card swipes being the common form of retail transactions. A credit card with a small computer chip called an “EMV” will begin its takeover Oct. 1, 2015, which also marks the shift in fraud liability on credit card charges. After years of success in Europe, the EMV cards are
Retreading Faces Pressures
When I was asked to contribute an article forecasting what the future held for the truck tire retread market during the next 12 months the first thought that came to my mind was “China.” Although I am writing this while sitting in my office in California, I am well aware that Tire Review has
Customized Solutions
With all that a quality marketing program entails – advertising, social media, public relations and more – doing it right is a big commitment. Tire dealers large and small must choose the best strategy to make sure all bases are covered. As we discovered when speaking with dealers for this article, sometimes the answer isn’t
