The whole tire industry is waiting to see what happens next as Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. integrates the Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. business into its portfolio. One thing John Healy knows is that Goodyear has found even more savings than the $165 million the tiremaker initially expected to realize.

Pricing actions were frequent in 2021, and more have already rolled into the new year,. Analyst John Healy says on average those price hikes resulted in a 20% increase over 2020 prices. Interestingly, he says the cost to build an average tire went up 24% in 2021.

From surprise acquisitions to supply chain, pricing and labor challenges, 2021 delivered plenty of punches. Industry analyst John Healy has tracked them all and has insights for tire dealers of what issues will be the most important to monitor in the months ahead.

The Supreme Court has blocked the Biden Administration's rule requiring larger businesses to ensure that workers receive the COVID-19 vaccine or wear masks and get tested on a weekly basis.

While the Supreme Court will hear arguments related to the Biden Administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate on Jan. 7, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is preparing to begin enforcing some parts of the rule just three days later. Employers with at least 100 workers need to pay attention to the details, which could change.

To say 2021 was a good year for truck and bus tires in the replacement channel is a bit of an understatement. In market data compiled by Michelin Group, the year-to-date demand was always double-digits ahead of the mark in North America and Central America.

Darrin Mallet has worked as a general contractor, once sold groceries and even managed a meat counter. Until about five years ago, he had never sold a single tire.

Love’s Travel Stops has opened three new Speedco locations.

Total U.S. tire shipments are expected to hit 336 million units in 2021 and the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association projects every category of replacement tires will exceed the units shipped in 2019.

After leading Indy Tire Centers Inc. dba Best-One of Indy for more than 30 years, CEO Dennis Dickson retired in October.

Greenball Corp. has updated two of its side-by-side tires, giving them both square shoulders and a flatter contact patch to grip more of the road.

Jim and Tommy Duff were on hand for the ceremonial groundbreaking of a center geared toward boosting science, technology, engineering and mathematics education at the University of Mississippi. The center will be named after the tire dealing brothers, who are the owners of Southern Tire Mart.

Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT) continues to invest in expanding its manufacturing capacity, which will help the company fuel further growth.

Sentury Tire USA launched a new TBR line at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show. Delivery of the line will be available in January 2022.

New Tire Industry Hall of Fame member and outgoing Tire Industry Association (TIA) CEO Dr. Roy Littlefield can claim a number of well-deserved achievements and accolades. But the association’s longtime leader says many of his proudest moments at the helm of TIA were accompanied by little — and in most cases, zero — fanfare. 

As the director of Purcell Tire & Rubber Co.’s global mining division, new Tire Industry Association (TIA) President Mason Hess knows tires — especially big ones. In this interview, he previews some of the things TIA members can expect to see from the association in 2022.

On Tuesday, Nov. 2, when the 2021 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show and Global Tire Expo open at the Las Vegas Convention Center, The Tire Industry Association (TIA)  will stage the first of two days of educational sessions. 

“There’s no competition when it comes to safety.” That has become the backbone and unofficial motto of the Safety Leadership Summit, an initiative led by and involving some of the nation’s largest commercial tire dealerships. In October 35 safety personnel gathered near Charlotte, N.C., to share best practices and ideas on how to make their employees, workplaces and the industry as a whole, safer.

The latest report from the TechForce Foundation confirms what tire dealers and others in the automotive industry know too well — the demand for and shortage of technicians has gotten significantly worse in the last year. In fact, it nearly doubled.

With the unemployment rate on a downward slide, why are small businesses — including independent tire dealerships — having such a tough time finding workers? Reasons vary, say dealers, many of whom are rethinking their approach to recruitment — and how to hang onto the people they already employ.