Starting to see a trend here? Just about every major tire manufacturer has announced a price increase, and Toyo is now no exception.

Effective starting this month, Toyo will institute an 8% price increase on their wholesale tires including passenger, light truck, commercial truck, and OTR tires. That 8% is an average number, with certain Toyo lines being increased slightly more or less.

Of course, Toyo has cited the same reasons behind the adjustment as every other manufacturer:

“This price increase is due to the continued rise in raw material costs,” says John Hagan, senior director, sales operations for Toyo Tire U.S.A. “As always, Toyo Tires makes every effort to minimize these increases while still delivering a premium product. We appreciate the continued support and understanding of our loyal dealers and consumers.”

Simple, to the point, and nothing new.

So far Hankook, Cooper, Continental, Federal, Yokohama, Kumho, Goodyear, Falken, Bridgestone, and Michelin have announced price increases on commercial tires. It’s a little too late for wholesale tire distributors and retailers to stock up at this point, but it’s important to stay on top of industry news to maximize inventory levels before these sorts of increases. Stay tuned for the latest.

Ther following P-metric and metric sizes are included in this safety recall campaign, depending on the DOT Serial number.

Toyo Versado CUV: P245/55R19 103T, P235/55R20 102T, 235/55R18 100V, P255/65R18 109S.

Toyo Versado LX II: 215/60R16 95V.

Toyo Open Country A/T: LT285/70R17 121S.

Toyo Tourevo LS II: 245/45R18 96V.

Nitto Terra Grappler: 255/55R18 109S.

If you own these Toyo tires, inspect them to make sure that they are not affected by this recall. If you are not sure how to perform the inspection, take them to a local tire dealer or tire wholesaler.

Any customers affected by the recall will receive free replacement tires as well as coverage for all expenses related to mounting and balancing the replacements.

A 20 inch version of The Firestone Firehawk GT has just been named the original equipment tire for the 2011 models of the Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger. The Firehawk GT is an all-season, V-rated tire that has enjoyed positive reviews from consumers using it as an aftermarket replacement.

Bridgestone (makers of the Firehawk) said it will outfit the Challenger and Charger with specially designed and engineered tires in size 245/45R20 99V. The Firehawk GT will be included on 2011 Charger with R/T Plus, R/T Road & Track, R/T Max packages and Wheels & Tunes and Rally Appearance Groups.

Michael Martini, president, original equipment, U.S. and Canada Consumer Tire Sales Division, Bridgestone, had this to say: “The Charger and Challenger are icons of motorsports culture, known for their incredible performances both on the road and on the silver screen,” said “The Firestone brand has its own iconic status when it comes to on-road performances in America and linking these brands together is very exciting for us.”

Tire wholesalers looking for a good OE buy would be wise to stock up on these Firehawk models. Hopefully they will be available in OE sizing before Bridgestone’s planned price increase on April 1st.

“While we are always working to balance costs and deliver a premium package of value to our customers, these extraordinary increases in costs related to manufacturing make these price adjustments necessary,” says Larry Magee, BATO’s U.S. and Canada consumer tire president.

Bridgestone last raised prices on its wholesale Bridgestone tires on November 1st. That was also an 8% hike, but only affected U.S. markets.

What does this mean for businesses and consumers? Well, if you were in the market for Bridgestone tires, make sure to buy them as soon as possible. And if you’re an automotive business or tire retailer, make sure to stock up on popular wholesale Bridgestone tires before this hike has a chance to chip away at your profit margin!

Not all tire manufacturers had bad news to report in 2010. Hankook Tire just announced its fiscal year 2010 performance results with global sales an operating profit that have broken the company’s previous annual records. Hankook’s global tire sales topped $4.8 billion USD (11.5% increase year-over-year), and their operating profit was an impressive $523 million (6.7% increase year-over-year). What makes Hankook’s accomplishments so special is the fact that raw materials have been steadily rising in price and forcing manufacturers to re-think their supply chains, pricing, and plans for growth.

So Il Lee, president of Hankook Tire America Corporation, had this to say about the company’s successful year: “In 2010, our company has had another successful, record-breaking year in North America as well as globally. Hankook Tire North America, USA and Canada combined, recorded sales of 12.6 million tires, totaling $1 billion with a growth rate of 21 percent.”

So what did Hankook say was behind their record-breaking performance? Emerging markets drove demand for wholesale Hankook tires while sales in strategic markets in North America, Europe, and Asia remained steady. Hankook has also enjoyed a positive response and surging demand for their Ultra-High Performance (UHP) tires. Global sales for UHP tires alone saw a 42% increase year-over-year.

So where do they go from here? Hankook has set the bar higher for 2011, aiming to achieve $5.4 billion in global sales, another 11% annual increase. Hankook believes that boosted production capacity in their Hungarian plant will make achieving this goal possible. Stay tuned for more news.

The northeastern United States has been positively walloped by snow in the last month, receiving yet another generous helping of the white stuff last night and this morning. For those unlucky enough to have to continue in to work or school, commuting can be extremely dangerous and stressful.

Most original equipment tires are simply not intended to handle snow. If you’re travelling often despite this inclement weather, it really makes sense to invest in some good snow tires. Wholesale snow tires can be stored in your garage during the spring, summer, and fall, and then can be installed inexpensively at your local auto shop when the temperatures start to dip.

So what makes snow tires so special? Most importantly, snow tires have special tread designs that bite into snow and ice. This type of tread design is unnecessary (not to mention noisy) during normal driving conditions, but it provides much-needed traction in the snow. In addition to this special tread design, snow tires are made with a softer rubber compound that that conform to the surface well in low temperatures. Compare that to the harder rubbers used in standard all-season tires, which don’t offer that same flexibility and pliancy.

And remember, if you’re going to put snow tires on your car, make sure to put them in all four wheel positions! Putting them on just the front or just the back negates all of their benefits, and may actually make it harder for you to steer and handle your car.

Be safe out there, and be prepared!

According to a “state of the industry” survey coordinated by Modern Tire Dealer, nearly 60% of tire retailers estimated their unit sales were up by an average of 10% in 2010. More than 68% said that their dollar sales were up by an average of 11%.

If you think that’s impressive, wholesale tire distributors posted even better numbers. More than 70% of tire wholesalers said their unit sales were up by an average of 13%; More than 82% said their dollar sales were up by an average of 14%!

These are pretty surprising numbers considering all of the bad news coming out of the automotive and tire industry these days. When 70% of the retailers and 80% of wholesalers report sales that were no worse than flat in 2010 as compared to the previous year, that’s actually something to smile about.

Only time will tell what 2011 has in store for our industry, but the results of this quarterly survey are certain promising. Check back in a few months for an analysis of the latest survey results.

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 10,000 times in 2010. That’s about 24 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 7 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 74 posts. There were 3 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 157kb.

The busiest day of the year was March 16th with 70 views. The most popular post that day was What are run-flat tires?.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were en.wordpress.com, search.aol.com, search.conduit.com, cordless-homephone.info, and google.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for runflat, toyo tires logo, run flat tires, run flat, and bald tires.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

What are run-flat tires? April 2009

Toyo Proxes A20 chosen as OE tire on 2010 Toyota Prius V July 2009

Overview: Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/T Radial April 2009

Bridgestone-Firestone recalls 127,000+ tires July 2009

Most popular tire sizes in 2008 February 2009

Gary Nash, Yokohama VP of the OTR division, explains, “It’s a very difficult decision, especially in light of these tough economic times. However, by incorporating operational efficiencies with our environmental procedures and the latest technology, Yokohama remains committed to bringing the best products to the market at competitive prices.”

John Cooney, Yokohama director of commercial sales, adds, “As always, we continue to do our best to contain costs. We have avoided increasing prices but unfortunately, find it necessary to have the continued rise in the costs of raw materials, manufacturing and transportation reflected in our product pricing.”

Yokohama’s price hike is part of a growing industry trend among top tire manufacturers. Pirelli, Michelin, BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Toyo, Falken, Kumho, Hankook, and Cooper have all planned similar increases.

For dealers looking to extend profit margins, now is the time to stock up on wholesale tires and wholesale truck tires at current prices. Once manufacturers adjust their price tags, consumers will be forced to shell out the extra cash.

According to Continental Tire, the new Heavy Regional Steer tire delivers “maximum fuel efficiency on regional roads through advanced tread design and compounding.”

For companies looking for more mileage out of their wholesale truck tires, the HSR2 SA was verified as a low rolling resistance tire by the EPA SmartWay program (when used in line haul steer positions).

“A standard method of travel in Central and South America, bus and rapid transit is rapidly growing in the North American markets as public transportation systems are added and consumers look for ways to reduce their environmental impact,” said Clif Armstrong, CTA’s marketing director for commercial tires. “By completing our product lineup for bus tires with the HSR2 SA, we have introduced our first regional application bus tire for the Americas that will help fleet managers and even RV drivers control their tire and fuel costs.”

Among the novel features of this new tire are:

• customized tread geometry designed to aid in water evacuation
• good wet traction
• reduced stone retention
• A five-rib tread design and VAI+ visual alignment indicator system to help ensure even wear

The new Continental HSR2 SA is available now from tire wholesalers throughout North and South America in the following sizes:

• 275/80R22.5
• 295/80R22.5
• 315/80R22.5