Bob Bissler

Senior Editor

Bob Bissler is Modern Tire Dealer's senior editor. He began his interest in the automotive industry as a teenager helping his brother work on drag race cars, and after high school he worked in his other brother's body shop.

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Mike Manges

Senior Editor

Mike Manges is Modern Tire Dealer's senior editor. He is a three-time International Automotive Media Association award winner and holds a Gold Award from the Association of Automotive Publication Editors. He also edits MTD's acclaimed Commercial Tire Dealer section, as well as The Kovach Tire Report, MTD's sister publication. Mike has traveled the world -- including Asia, Europe and North America -- in pursuit of stories.

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2011 will be an exciting year for OTR tire dealers, suppliers

By: Mike Manges

As readers of this blog know, the last couple of years have been extremely challenging for OTR tire manufacturers and dealers.

However, things are starting to look up and I believe a gradual, sustainable turnaround is well within reach.

Let's look at some numbers. In August, privately owned housing starts totaled 598,000, a 10.5% increase over July 2010 housing starts, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing completions during August totaled 603,000, a 5.6% increase from the previous month's completion number.

While an explosion in new, domestic construction probably is not in the cards next year, even a small increase in housing starts puts the industry well ahead of where it was 12 months ago.

Mining also appears to be on a slow, steady upswing. U.S. mining production grew 1.2% in August, according to the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, the mine utilization rate rose to 86.3%. Although this number is 1.1% below the 1972-2009 mine utilization rate average, it's still positive movement.

A recently published report by www.companiesandmarkets.com predicts that the total value of the U.S. mining sector in 2010 will be $322 billion, up 3.7% from last year, thanks in no small part to elevated mineral prices. Coal, in particular, has been a bright spot.

Another good sign is that OTR tire manufacturers are expanding their product line-ups. In April, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. announced production of its new RM-design haul tire. Two months later, Yokohama Tire Corp. announced the roll-out of two new tires, the RL42 and the RB42, for dump truck applications.

In July, Michelin North America Inc. introduced its Michelin X-Traction OTR tire to the North American market, and more recently, Titan International Inc. added a new mining haul truck tire, the TDE4, to its ever-expending portfolio. Not to be outdone, Indian tiremaker Balkrishna Industries Ltd. recently introduced several new tires for earthmoving applications.

Meanwhile, the expansion of Bridgestone Corp.'s OTR tire plant in Kitakyushu, Japan, continues. The factory's daily output will reach 80 tons of rubber when the second and last expansion phase is completed sometime during the second half of 2012.

Make no mistake: tire manufacturers will continue to jockey for position as the market gradually recovers. I think 2011 will be an interesting and exciting year for all players in the OTR tire segment.

Related Topics: Balkrishna Industries, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Michelin North America Inc., OTR tires, Titan International Inc., Yokohama Tire Corp.