Editorial: Tire Dealers, We Need You More Than Ever

Think back six years ago to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. As federal, state and local governments took extraordinary actions to minimize the spread of the virus in the form of shelter-in-place orders and other mandates, many within our industry asked, “Will we be forced to shut down, too?”

It was easy to understand why. Several tire manufacturers, as a precautionary measure, had closed plants. Miles driven, a reliable determinant of tire consumption, had plummeted. Many of you were wondering if your dealership would be allowed to stay open. At the time, one dealer told me, “This represents uncharted waters for us.” He wasn’t alone in feeling that way.

Fortunately, a ray of light emerged in the form of a federal memorandum stating that auto repair and maintenance facilities were considered essential and would be exempt from closing, allowing you to serve the needs of people in other essential industries.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word “essential” as “something necessary and indispensable.” That’s what you — as an independent tire dealer — were during the COVID-19 pandemic. And that’s what you are in 2026.

It’s easy to forget just how integral tire dealers are to keeping our country running as it should. I’d like to spend a few minutes reminding you, accompanied by some numbers.

Let’s look at public safety. According to the American Ambulance Association, there are 48,384 ground ambulance vehicles in the United States that together carry 840,669 emergency medical service personnel — and countless patients — to their destinations.
As of November 2024, there were 27,166 registered fire departments operating out of 52,309 fire stations throughout the U.S. and around 1.2 million active firefighters nationwide, according to the National Fire Department Registry. In addition, there are an estimated 250,000 to 300,000 police vehicles in operation across the country, working out of nearly 18,000 police agencies.

Let’s take a deeper dive into the medical profession. According to the Federation of State Medical Boards, there are slightly more than one million licensed physicians in the U.S. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing tells us there are nearly 4.7 million registered nurses nationwide. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 337,400 pharmacists in the U.S. (The latest data from the American Hospital Association reveals there are 6,100 hospitals from coast to coast.)

How about those people who keep the lights on and provide heat and drinking water for us? According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there are nearly 3,000 electric utilities in the country. There are 1,000 public natural gas facilities in the U.S. More than 50,000 drinking water systems operate in the U.S., with 90% of them serving fewer than 10,000 people, according to the National Association of Water Companies.

Where would we be without public sanitation? As of February 2026, the waste and remediation industry employed around 528,000 people, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. What about the vehicles they use? It’s estimated that Waste Management, North America’s biggest waste services provider, alone operates around 24,000 waste collection and transfer vehicles.

Let’s examine the general transportation and delivery of goods. There’s an old saying in the trucking industry that “if you bought it, a truck brought it.” According to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), trucks moved 72.7% of U.S. freight during 2024. There are nearly 580,000 active motor carriers registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that own or lease at least one tractor. In total, nearly 3.6 million truck drivers are employed across the U.S., according to the latest numbers from the ATA.

What do all of the above people, industries, entities and vehicles have in common? They rely on tires to get them to where they need to go, so they can help the rest of us. Going one step further, they rely on you and the expertise and services that you provide, which in many cases, they can’t find anywhere else and certainly not to the level of professionalism, care and consistency that you exhibit. 

In other words, you — and your business — are still essential, not just to the customers you specifically serve but to our society, at large. This is something you and your employees should be exceedingly proud of — and it’s something you should celebrate.

Thanks for all that you do to make our world a safer, better place.

Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected].