Two of General Motors Corp.'s biggest tire suppliers, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC (BFNT), have commented on the possible impact of the United Auto Workers' strike.
"Goodyear will continue to supply tires to General Motors as needed," a Goodyear spokesman told moderntiredealer.com.
"It's too early for us to know how the GM strike will affect our business," says a BFNT spokesman. "Though GM is a very important customer for us, we have a lot of original equipment business with a lot of (automobile) manufacturers."
Goodyear brand tires are OE on 30% of GM's light vehicles, according to Modern Tire Dealer research.
The Bridgestone brand can be found on 27% of GM's light vehicles, while BFNT's Firestone brand is OE on 6% of GM light vehicles.
Some 73,000 UAW members started picketing at 80 GM plants on Sept. 24.
