Happy Returns?: While RFID Technology Steadily Matures, ROI Questions Persist
Sure, hybrid-powered cars, light trucks and SUVs will save us money at the pump. Yet we pay a premium price for a hybrid vehicle. That’s what we call a “conundrum.” Though we save a few bucks on the family budget, we must pay for that privilege. And that extra dough we’re saving may not be
Waste Not, Worry Not: Fleets That Partner Up with Tire Dealers Can Take the Worry Factor Out of Tires
“He saves us tens of thousands in potential workers’ compensation claims. His labor costs are $18 an hour, while mine are $22. My overall insurance costs are lower, and I’m saving 10% per tire in labor alone.” That’s Scott Francis, fleet maintenance manager for Whiteline Xpress Ltd. in Champaign, Ill. He’s in charge of watching
Built to Last: Smart Lifecycle Cost Control Can Help Fleets Squeeze Every Last Mile Out of Every Casing
Here’s a bulletin for fleet maintenance managers responsible for extending tire casing life: If you start a serious tire inflation program today, you will enjoy a 10% improvement in tire mileage expectations tomorrow. That’s only the beginning. If you add a proper tire rotation program, daily calibration of your tire pressure gauges, an alignment program
It’s in the Air: Proper Air Pressure is Key to Tire Performance and Optimized Tire Investment
Truck fleets and commercial tire dealers probably already know that tire costs are second only to fuel when calculating total operating costs. Managing tires properly – and that means being diligent in keeping air pressures where they are supposed to be – can maximize tire dollars. In a Technology and Maintenance Council (TMC) tire failure
Looming Mandate: Without Help, Dealers Face Dark Future. How Will You Cope?
To many in the tire industry, TPMS is a four-letter acronym that is quickly becoming a four-letter word. That goes for retail dealers and, soon, consumers alike. But these people are only considering the hassles involved with servicing tire/wheel assemblies featuring these gizmos. Look a little deeper, and you’ll see the potential for independent tire
Higher Standards?: New Form of Liability Suit Raises Issue of What Customers Should Expect
What do customers have a right to expect from your business? When they come in for new tires or complaining about some odd sound in the rear end, what level of service should they – or can they legally – expect from you? Should there be a “standard of care” for tire retailers and shops?
Pushing Rope?: How High Will Another Price Increase Fly With Strapped End-Users?
Rumblings are up about an upcoming round of across-the-board tire price hikes. No one should be surprised. Legacy costs, operating costs and, most especially, raw material costs, are chewing up tiremakers, especially those on these shores. The price increases invoked over the last three years have certainly been warranted, and, for the most part, those
Running Silent: Denman’s New President Quietly Yet Decisively Charts a New Course
Career changes come in many forms, just as challenges do. When Manny Cicero took over as president of Denman Tire Corp. in May, he took on a very challenging career change. Like all small specialty firms, Denman, based in tiny Leavittsburg, Ohio, battles much larger but less agile competitors for sales and share. The tiremaker
Winter Harvest: Dealers Can Plant the Winter Tire Seed All Year Round
It wasn’t too long ago that some in this industry were ready to declare the winter tire dead. Popular in Europe and Canada, sales in the U.S. had been, at best, flat for the previous couple of winters. A few suggested that advances in standard passenger and performance offerings were enough to cope with slush,
Critical Mass: Under Cost and Capacity Pressures, BFNAT Outlines Its Plan
Under Cost and Capacity Pressures, BFNAT Outlines Its Plan