Some challenges that tire dealers face today aren't necessarily new. That became apparent as I was flipping through the March 1921 edition of Tires, which later became known as MTD. Here’s what was happening in our industry 100 years ago this month. 

The transpacific container ship slowdown is expected to reverse course during the second quarter, but as of right now, the pileup of vessels on the West Coast continues - and that’s not good for tire dealers who are waiting for orders to arrive.

The last time MTD caught up with Anne Forristall Luke, president and CEO of the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association, was during April 2020, when the association’s 13 members were grappling with demand drop-offs, plant shutdowns and general uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly one year later, Forristall Luke says the association’s focus has shifted to working with the new Biden Administration and Senate to help advance its members’ interests at the legislative level. 

COVID-19 changed how independent tire dealerships do business — in many positive, profit-enhancing ways. One year later, 10 thriving tire dealers describe the quick, sometimes-tough decisions they made after the pandemic hit, how those changes made their businesses stronger and why other dealers should follow suit.

What do you think of when you hear the word “sustainability?” For many years, the term, in my mind, evoked thoughts of recycling and other ordinary, everyday practices that fall under the general umbrella of “environmental friendliness.” But there’s so much more to how sustainability is now defined within our industry.

With springtime around the corner, people’s thoughts often turn to warmer weather, vacation planning and preventive vehicle maintenance. Actually, most car owners only think about two out of the three, according to Dominic Umek, group business unit leader for Conrad’s Tire Express & Total Car Care, a 38-location dealership based in Cleveland, Ohio. 

Les Schwab Tire Centers Inc. has added three stores since its sale to Meritage Group LP was announced nearly six months ago. The new outlets are located in Arvada, Colo.; Klamath Falls, Ore.; and Fresno, Calif.

As arguments for and against boosting the minimum wage continue in Washington D.C., a tire dealership in Fort Wayne, Ind., decided that it didn't need to wait for a legislative resolution. Effective March 1, all full-time employees at McMahon’s Best-One Tire now earn at least $15 an hour. And Kim McMahon, one of the dealership’s three owners, couldn’t be happier.

MTD recently caught up with several independent tire dealers to gauge their reaction to the recent announcement that Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plans to acquire Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. 

Commenting on Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s pending acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Brad Hughes, Cooper's president and CEO, said that “when you look at the whole of it, in most cases, it’s going to offer more opportunities than risk." What’s the Goodyear brand’s current representation among the largest independent tire dealerships in the U.S.? And how many U.S.-based dealerships carry Cooper brand tires?

"Cooper gives Goodyear a stronger brand in the middle of the market," says John Healy, managing director and research analyst with Northcoast Research Holdings LLC., which specifically follows both Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. The two companies have announced that Goodyear plans to acquire Cooper during the second half of 2021.

The late Harvey Brodsky often proclaimed, “Retreading is recycling!” And he was right. Retreading was recycling long before recycling and “going green” were mainstream. But retreading is many other things, too. Here are some interesting facts about the North American retreading market.

Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America Inc. (YOHTA) - until recently known as Alliance Tire Americas Inc. - is preparing for a big 2021 with the roll-out of new products and further refinement of its “one stop shop” concept, consolidated under the Yokohama banner. In this interview, YOHTA President Dhaval Nanavati discusses all of the above, in addition to support that parent company Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. is providing and more.

Let’s say you’re a tire manufacturer faced with the prospect of tariffs. How do you prepare? Hankook & Co.'s recently published full-year 2020 report provides a glimpse into measures the company is taking.

In the November issue of MTD, I wrote that “electric vehicles are here to stay.” This statement has been underscored by two recent announcements - one by the White House and another by one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers.

Does it seem like it’s taking longer than normal for those container loads of tires that you’ve ordered from Asia to arrive? Supply chain experts discuss why and when the situation is expected to turn around in MTD Editor Mike Manges' latest editorial.

You might be tempted to think that the current antidumping investigation of consumer tires made in South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam is an unprecedented development.

Speaking during K&M Tire Inc.’s 2021 Dealer Conference, Gary Schroeder, executive director of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.’s commercial tire business, urged truck tire dealers to monitor several ongoing developments.

In an increasingly crowded segment of the market that has seen a significant influx of new brands, Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America Inc., until recently known as Alliance Tire Americas Inc., believes it has landed on a winning formula with its Galaxy commercial truck tire line.

As an analyst at Northcoast Research Holdings LLC, John Healy has a bird’s-eye view of the domestic tire industry. Healy, who also writes MTD’s monthly Your Marketplace column, calls 2020 “the most unpredictable and at the same time, the most surprising” year in recent memory. In this MTD exclusive, Healy explains why - and looks ahead to what 2021 will bring.

Readers of a certain age will remember the Magic 8-Ball, that strange, plastic toy that provided instant answers to those all-important questions (“Will I ace my math test?” “Will I win the lottery?” “Will the Browns ever make it to the Super Bowl?”) I thought it would be fun to apply Magic 8-Ball-like answers to several tire industry-related questions that have been on my mind and could very well be on your mind, too.

As we approach the start of a new year, I would be remiss if I failed to mention a very special honor that was recently bestowed on a member of the extended MTD family.

Production ramp-ups and the introduction of additional digital tools to help its dealers service trucking fleets more effectively are just a few of the things that Continental Tire the Americas LLC has planned for 2021, says Tom Fanning, the company’s head of U.S. market for truck tires.

Next year should be a good one for the ag tire market in North America, according to Nick Phillippi, national product manager, agriculture, Alliance Tire Americas Inc. "I think we'll see a nice bump in farmers' investment in equipment in 2021, whether it's in new machinery sales or in buying good used machines," he says.