No Tariffs, No Certainty for Truck Tires
“Due to consistently lower diesel prices, many fleets are asking for tires that offer long tread wear and enhanced traction,” says Brian Buckham at Goodyear.
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“Due to consistently lower diesel prices, many fleets are asking for tires that offer long tread wear and enhanced traction,” says Brian Buckham at Goodyear.
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When it comes to medium truck tires, fuel efficiency and cost-per-mile considerations remain priorities, but there are other trends driving the segment as well.
Heavier front axles on trucks are requiring higher load ratings on steer tires. Fleets are adapting to wide-base tires.
Smart tires, outfitted with sensors, are monitoring everything from changes in a tire’s pressure to the truck’s load and speed. The data can help fleet managers calculate and understand the factors contributing to tire wear.
And those are just a few of the highlights. Fourteen tire manufacturers outlined the top trends in truck tires.
But there’s another force at play in the current truck tire market, one some might have thought was settled. Tariffs — and even a lack of tariffs — are creating uncertainty.
The decision in February 2017 by the International Trade Commission (ITC) not to impose tariffs on truck and bus tires from China was a stunner. There had been no indication leading up to the ITC’s vote that the case would go that way, and the early stage of the investigation indicated nearly all truck and bus tires from China would be subject to tariffs of around 50%. Dealers and tire distributors tried to beat what seemed like an inevitable price hike. Now they’re sitting on excess inventory as these imports are returning to the U.S. market.
Rick Phillips, vice president of sales for Triangle Tire USA, says that’s the biggest impact of the tariff decision. “But going forward the impact of the decision will ultimately be determined by the end users buying the tires, and by the dealers delivering the tires.
“The market certainly has an appetite for products in this space and that …Read the rest of this story
