The second wave of tire industry price hikes this year may have started.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is raising prices on most of its Goodyear, Kelly and Dunlop brand passenger and light truck tires up to 4%.
And the company is increasing its Aquatred 3 passenger and bias light truck tire prices by 5%.
All price increases are effective June 15, says a Goodyear spokesman.
The Akron, Ohio-based tiremaker is raising prices to compensate for "unprecedented energy cost increases" and "increased labor cost due to the pattern agreement established by Bridgestone/Firestone Inc." and the United Steelworkers of America last year.
Industry-wide price increases announced late last year and implemented earlier this year appear to be sticking.
For a more detailed look, check out Modern Tire Dealer's exclusive, five-part series on price hikes posted on www.mtdealer.com last week. The reports can be found in the Web site's "News Archives" section.
