By day, Tyson Boyer is a mild-mannered tire and fleet services manager for Midas. In his spare time, Mr. Boyer has taken up the cause for tire retailers everywhere.
Last week we spotlighted a recent Click & Clack column that ran in the Calgary Herald. (Presumably, because it is a syndicated column, it also ran elsewhere in Canada and the U.S.) That particular column, written by Tom and Ray Magliozzi, claimed that tire plugs were safe to use for long-term tire repairs, and that drivers themselves could perform these repairs.
Mr. Boyer leapt in, and sent a Letter to the Editor of the Calgary Herald, and a separate missive to Tire Review. Here is the letter to the Herald; the one he sent to us was fairly identical. Feel free to thank him at any time:
To the Calgary Herald Jan. 8:
Re: "Tire plugs are safe, durable," Tom and Ray Magliozzi, Opinion, Dec. 29.
I am extremely disappointed to not only hear Tom and Ray’s answer, but see it posted in the Calgary Herald.
Tom and Ray are intelligent individuals who provide some great tips for travelers. However, discussing and approving the use of plugs in passenger tires today is unbelievable.
We have tire manufacturers, the RMA (Rubber Manufacturers Association) and TIA (Tire Industry Association), along with the industry, communicating safety, sustainability and peace of mind using a one-piece patch/plug combo repair.
One of the major stories of 2011 in the tire industry was about a $22.8 million faulty tire repair that was entirely avoidable.
I highly recommend a follow-up story so the consumer is not misled into self-repairing a tire that they do not know is safe or not. They are not only putting themselves at higher risk, they are endangering others on the road.
Mr. Boyer’s letter to Tire Review on Jan. 5 added:
“I ask that you counteract this misleading and unsubstantiated claim by Car Talk in a future issue. Our industry needs to hear it more often. In turn, hopefully it will be communicated for the consumer eyes and ears.”
Stay tuned, Tyson, Stay tuned.
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Word is that China’s tire producers are not very hot on the coming year. The China Rubber Industry Association, in fact, seems to be turning its pockets out – and that is with a predicted growth rate of a paltry 8.5% for the year.
Still, there are serious problems in China.
First, China’s auto market has softened. New passenger vehicle sales have fallen off compared to recent years, primarily because the eligible market is pretty full. And partly because automakers are retrenching in reaction to government pressure to improve their products to meet global quality and performance standards.
Second, domestic demand for consumer or commercial tires has fallen off in China. Replacement tire sales are softer than in recent years, and OE tire sales are obviously controlled by how many vehicles are being produced and sold.
Third, when it comes to forecasting, most Chinese tiremakers are not as sophisticated as their Western counterparts. While most Chinese tiremaker attention is spent on quality and technology, the plants simply churn out tires relentlessly. There is very little planning and scheduling, but plenty of making. As a result, warehouses are brimming with tires, and producers are now scrambling to find new customers.
Even those tiremakers that do try to forecast are still being caught in an overstock situation. So, tiremakers will be cutting back production to burn off inventory, or may simply get rid of those stocks, according to reports.
Adding to this dilemma is the heavy capital investment made in many Chinese tire plants over the past five years. Facilities that once managed five million tires per year were improved to produce 20 million per year. With no forecasting, where do you put all of that rubber?
It’s a situation well worth keeping an eye on. Come September, we’ll see the end of the added U.S. tariff on China-made consumer tires imported here (or will we?). Just what do you think will happen to tire pricing if tariffs return to their 4% base rate and these overstock tires are out there?
