Instead of focusing on one topic this month, I thought I'd use this column to discuss several different subjects that have captured my attention and could also be of interest to you. Here we go: 

A challenging market. If you've been following MTD's Mid-Year Executive Q&A series - exclusively available on www.moderntiredealer.com - over the last couple of months, you've heard CEOs and other high-level executives from major tire manufacturers share their thoughts and observations about the U.S. replacement tire market - both consumer tires and TBR tires. The general consensus? It's a tough market out there. High fuel prices continue to put the squeeze on consumers' budgets. Many trucking fleets are struggling. Demand in many segments is down. (For complete comments from executives, click here.) The good part? There is optimism that market conditions will improve during the second half. But I wouldn't expect a big rebound. 

Magnificent Morocco? What will be the tire industry's next big manufacturing hub? You could make the case for the north African country of Morocco. Several tiremakers already have. In 2024, the first passenger tires rolled off the line at Sentury Tire's then-new factory in Morocco, a nation of nearly 40 million people that borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Other tire manufacturers have since set up plants in the country. (Morocco already is a leading manufacturing center for automobiles in Africa. Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen and Hyundai Motor Co. all have plants there.) What's more, Morocco hosts a number of state-of-the-art shipping ports, including the Tanger Med complex, a hub on the Strait of Gibraltar that reportedly is the busiest port in Africa, with the ability to handle millions of containers each year and a line across the ocean to North America. As more tire companies continue to scour the globe for new manufacturing centers, Morocco will be in the mix. 

Domestic manufacturing. The manufacturing landscape here in the U.S. is slowly but significantly changing. Just a few months ago, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. announced that it will close its Fayetteville, N.C., consumer tire plant next year.  According to MTD’s 2026 Facts Issue, published this past January, the Fayetteville factory has the capacity to build 31,000 passenger and 10,500 light truck tires per day. In terms of capacity, it’s Goodyear’s third-largest plant in North America, behind the company’s Lawton, Okla., factory, which has the capacity to make 65,400 units per day, and the former Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. Plant in Tupelo, Miss., which can make around 42,000 passenger tires per day when running at full throttle. Before press time, Michelin North America Inc. announced it will close its consumer tire plant in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (The plant makes BFGoodrich brand tires.) Yokohama Tire Corp. closed its PLT plant in Salem, Va. Other tiremakers shuttered plants in 2025. Yokohama TWS closed its ag tire plant in Spartanburg, S.C. Bridgestone Americas Inc. closed its 53-year-old medium truck tire plant in LaVergne, Tenn., last summer. Tiremakers are always evaluating their manufacturing footprints. This will continue.

The big just get bigger. The July issue of MTD contains the 2026 edition of the MTD 100, our annual look at the largest tire dealerships in the U.S. based on number of outlets. As a lead-in to the MTD 100, we published a carefully prepared, “for your eyes only” dossier of the first 50 tire dealerships on that list. Reading the 2026 MTD 100, you’ll discover that many of these dealerships have continued to add locations despite the sluggish national economy, building on the momentum they’ve established over the last several years. Some of these dealerships are family-owned. Some are owned by private equity groups. Some are employee-owned. Consolidation will continue in the tire dealership channel.

As the tire industry continues to evolve, we’ll be here to bring you news, analysis and insights that you won’t find anywhere else. Thanks for continuing to read MTD. If there’s anything we can do for you and your business, don’t hesitate to let me know. 

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