Heavy Treaddin’

We don’t usually cover light truck and passenger tires around here, with the exception of the Chinese dumping situation. However, several things are affecting the tire industry at once, and we thought it prudent to keep you abreast of the happenings.

It seems Goodyear is closing the doors of its Union City, TN plant for two weeks. In the meantime, workers will have to go on temporary unemployment. Now, most of these workers are unionized, and have an agreement with the USW (United Steel Workers). If that name looks conspicuous, it is because they are the ones who brought the original claims of dumping against Chinese tire manufacturers. The so-called “sub-pay” fund helps employees out if there are layoffs or work stoppages. The only weakness the fund has is this: Goodyear is the one who pays into the fund, based on the number of hours its employees work.

So, Goodyear employees will be drawing on the fund for two weeks, which will exhaust the fund. In the meantime, since there will not be anyone working, Goodyear doesn’t have to pay into the fund. Who came up with this strategy? I am guessing the accountants…and I believe the conversation went something like this:

Accountant: Hey, why do we make these payments to the Union every month?

Executive: Well, that’s just in case there are layoffs or something. We’ve had to make some concessions over the years.

Accountant: Do you have any idea how much we’ve paid out this year alone?

Executive: No.

Accountant: Enough to boost our profits for this quarter an extra penny or so.

Executive: So, what you’re saying is, we can make the Union pay their salary for two weeks, and we don’t have to contribute to the fund for this pay period, either. In addition, we can sell the existing inventory we already have at the higher prices going into effect in September.

Accountant: Technically, yes. You would have to deal with the anger of the employee population, though. The fund only pays out $.80 on the dollar.

Executive: Isn’t that why we pay unemployment taxes?

Accountant: Well, yes.

Executive: I’ll call HR and have them draw something up.

The sad thing is, I’m probably not too far off with this characterization. I’m not a big fan of Unions, for a number of reasons, but I’m also not a fan of shareholders trumping the concerns of the people who contribute most to your success.

I hold stock in several companies, and if 3c a share was the difference between somebody making their mortgage payment, and me making slightly less on a stock sale, I hope I’d just give it to them. Who wants to be the reason behind another person’s misery?

The question now is, “Where does Goodyear go from here?”. They’ve depleted the emergency fund, the safety net for their workers. What happens if things really go south, and there are massive layoffs?

No one can say, but I can tell you one thing: My next set of radials won’t be Goodyears.

Signing off…

A tip of the hat goes to Northwest Tennessee Today, who has the full story over on  their site.

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In case you hadn’t heard, American Tire Corporation’s unsolicited bid for Goodyear’s Topeka, KS plant was rejected by Goodyear’s Board of Directors. ATC’s quest was at best, Quixotic. It was an odd play for a larger share of the OTR market, especially since Goodyear was not under any external pressure to sell.

Like all spurned suitors, they have quickly found a much hotter girl that is coming to prom with them, although nobody has actually seen her. ATC makes the claim that they have purchased 520 acres of land in Washington, where they will be building a $500M facility. They also plan to buy another 500 or so acres, just to prove that they can (my words, not theirs). All the equipment should be in place by the end of August, although they will not start operations until an–as yet–unannounced point in the future.

As an aside, someone over at Tire Review tried to confirm this with the Seattle-Post Intelligencer, and they had not heard the first thing about it. You would think, if you were bringing new jobs to the area, that you would:

1. Contact the local press, so that they could publicize your awesome business, and bring in extra investment.
2. Contact the city(county, state) government and petition for a tax incentive, based on the boost to the local economy. Washington State has a high unemployment rate, and any new businesses outside of the tech arena are great news, especially ones with 500M dollar commitment to the region.

If they had done either of those things, a newspaper would have picked up wind of it ages ago. This is either an enormous PR blunder, or they are trying unsuccessfully to build a buzz within the industry. ATC sends out a press release whenever someone takes a coffee break, so people may have just assumed they were crying “Wolf” yet again.

We don’t know at this point whether things are set in stone, or if this is yet another deal that will fall through. We do predict, if they don’t get their act together soon, ATC will spend most of their prom night stuffed in a locker by the Co-Captains of the football team: Michelin, Bridgestone, and Goodyear.

Signing off…

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At 11:00 AM EST, the USITC voted to affirm the current duties that it has placed on Chinese OTR.

They will be issuing a complete statement later on today, which we link to in its entirety when made available.

The current statement is located here .

Stay tuned for updates to this post.

Update: 9/15/08 3PM EST

In the news report listed on the ITC website( available here ), the ITC voted to reaffirm their preliminary findings showing that Chinese OTR does materially damage jobs and pricing here in the us.

The vote, at 5-1 in favor of affirmation, and stated that the dumping duties will not be retroactively applied to tires that entered the US before Feb. 20th. 2008.

Update 9/15/08 4PM EST

Titan has posted their reaction to the news.

We’ll be following the effects of this decision here on the blog, and apply for a copy of the full report when it is made available in September.

Signing off…..

USITC confirma impostos para pneus OTR chineses

Às 11:00 da manhã, a USITC confirmou em votação os impostos que eles colocaram para os OTR chineses.

Eles irão editar um relatório completo hoje mais tarde, o qual nós estaremos ligados na sua totalidade quando estiver disponível.
O relatório corrente pode ser encontrado aqui. here .

Fique ligado para mais informações a este respeito.

Atualização:09/15/08 3 horas da tarde

Na página de notícias na website da ITC, ( disponível aqui here ), a ITC reconfirmou em votação as averiguações preliminares mostrando que os OTR chineses causam materialmente danos no trabalho e nos preços aqui nos EUA.

Votaram 5 contra 1 a favor das afirmações, e relataram que os impostos das liquidações não serão retroativos para os pneus que entraram nos EUA antes do dia 20 de fevereiro de 2008.

Ataulização: 09/15/08 4 horas da tarde

Titan divulgou o parecer deles their reaction para a imprensa.

Nós estaremos seguindo os efeitos destas decisões aqui neste blog e solicitaremos uma cópia completa do relatório, quando estiver disponível em setembro.

Desligando…..

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It’s time, once again, for the latest round of price increases: Drumroll, please!

Starting September 1st, pricing for Goodyear OTR will increase by 7%, and pricing on light and medium truck tires will increase by 10%.

Yokohama will have a more modest increase on OTR, which will come in at around 4%. Their  medium and light truck tire lines will see a rise of 6% overall. They are also looking seriously at inline price increases, which should be announced later.

Keep checking in, as I’m sure we will see announcements by Bridgestone, Michelin, and Titan in the very near future.

Signing off…

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There have a been a few big blurbs in the industry that are worth mentioning this week, and to be quite frank with you, most of them have been in coverage of Titan. So without further adieu, we present “the (almost) All Titan Edition” of Heavy Treaddin’

Titan Puts Their First 63″ Tire into action

Highlight: The first 63″ Titan Giant OTR Tire shipped this week into a regular commercial environment. Titan’s press release states that they will run in the Canadian Oil Sands. I was a little dubious when Maury Taylor announced they’d ship these things in July, as were a few other people. They deserve the bump that their stock is receiving for bringing these supplies online.

Titan Reports Record Sales

Highlight: Titan’s revenue goes up 28% from 1st quarter. This is very nice. Their net income increased somewhere around 260%. That’s before shipping this new beast. It looks like their stock is set to jump again. Where will they invest next? They have to do something with this new cash.

Maury Taylor and the Chinese Dumping Hearings

Lowlight: I have been doing a little research with regards to the Chairman of Titan Tire, Mr. Taylor, specifically about his run for the Presidency  a few years back. It turns out that “The Grizz” was(and possibly still is) a notorious union buster. While that did bode well for his Republican street cred, it does make one wonder why he was so quick to jump in bed with the USW. Perhaps he had a change of heart, perhaps he harbors ill will against the Communists, perhaps he has been reading “The Art of War”….”the enemy of my enemy is my friend”…anyone….anyone….

and now for the almost part…

I go to great lengths here at Heavy Treaddin’ for this not to become some part of a commercial for our company. From time to time, however, it becomes necessary to recognize our sponsor, and the company we belong to. So, without any more delays…

BuyBigTires.com Announces Website Redesign

That’s right, we finally did it. We gave the website improved usability(it’s easier to find stuff) added new resources, and now we are officially the home of a bi-weekly video magazine “OTR Weekly with Tom White”.

So go on over and check it out.

Thus ends the commercial. Seriously, though. Check out the new tools that we have added. They will save you a ton of time and headaches.

Stay tuned, as we continue to bring you the best in news and commentary from the OTR Tire Industry.

Signing off….

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Hello again, faithful readers, OTR Prognosticators, and Viagra Spammers.

The Olympics are upon us yet again, and athletes from all over the world will be turning in the performance of a lifetime. They have eaten correctly, trained for hours on end, and practiced their triple gainer, double flip, with a twist of lime umpteen thousand times. The only thing that remains is to figure out how they will breathe.

It has been widely reported for years that the vast majority Asia’s air quality(from Beijing to India) is somewhat lower than aerosolized sewage, and China is doing something about it. Just a few weeks before the games begin, China has forcibly mandated(when you are a communist dictatorship, there is no other option) that it’s citizens park their cars, shut down factories, and use one square of toilet paper per person (wait, that’s Sheryl Crow). While the scientific validity of Global Warming may be up for debate, smog and air pollution are not, and this measure seems to be too little, too late. It is, to quote a common clique, so much flatulence on the eve of Katrina.

Nevertheless, the Chinese government feels it is necessary. Among the various manufacturing institutions temporarily shuttering their doors are the  presently unfashionable OTR tire manufacturers. We have heard that they will lose roughly 1 1/2 - 2 months of production. This will also apply to producers of medium truck and passenger tires. Some estimates we are getting from our suppliers say that some factories won’t get new product on the water until December.  This could be a good or bad thing, depending on your perspective.

If you are the Chinese government, this gives you the opportunity to deny that you have been flooding the US market with your subsidized product. You aren’t even producing tires for two whole months. This may give Congressman Davis and friends a little less satisfaction in their arguments before the ITC. Plus, they don’t have to pay to subsidize those tires, and their freight.

If you are a competitor, you can be happy that the price of rubber will be a little less volatile, since one of the greatest consumers of that commodity will be out of commission for a bit.

The only people who have a question mark spinning over their heads are consumers, as no-one knows what to think. Will the results of this be good, bad, or largely inconsequential?

We’re not holding our breath here, but if you are visiting Beijing, we recommend you do.

Keep checking in, and we’ll keep you up to date on the latest movements in the OTR industry.

Signing off…..

Como a escassez de pneus OTR será afetada pelas Olimpíadas.
Oi novamente, caros leitores, prognosticadores de pneus OTR e spammers de Viagra.
As Olimpíadas já estão aqui novamente, e os atletas do mundo inteiro farão apresentações memoráveis. Eles comeram corretamente, treinaram por horas a fio, praticaram saltos duplos, exercícios de barra, viradas e giros como um limão torcido inúmeras vezes. A única coisa que nos resta compreender é como eles irão conseguir respirar.
Por anos temos vistos reportagens da qualidade do ar da Ásia em sua totalidade ( de Beijing até a Índia ), que é um pouco pior do que um esgoto aromatizado, e a China está tentando resolver o problema. Com poucas semanas restando até o começo dos jogos, a China passou um mandato vigoroso ( e quando você é um ditador comunista, não há outra opção ), que os cidadãos estacionem os carros, que as fábricas parem de funcionar, e que usem somente um quadrado do rolo de papel higiênico, por pessoa ( espera, esta é a Sheryl Crow). Enquanto que podemos até discutir a validade científica do aquecimento global, fumaça e poluição do ar não são discutíveis, e estas medidas parecem que chegaram um pouco tarde. Isto é, citando um grupo de rodas comum, muita flatulência na véspera da Katrina.
Entretanto, o governo chinês acha que tudo isto é necessário. Entre várias fábricas fechando as portas temporáriamente, estãoas fábricas de pneus OTR presentemente em desuso. Nós ouvimos que eles irão perder duramente de um mês e meio a dois meses de produção. Isto também será aplicado aos fabricantes de pneus médio para caminhões e ônibus. Algumas estimativas estão vindo dos nossos fornecedores, que dizem que algumas fábricas não exportarão seus produtos até dezembro. Isto poderá ser algo positivo ou negativo, dependendo da sua perspectiva.
Se você fosse o governo chinês, isto daria a você uma oportunidade de negar as acusações feitas contra os produtos subsídiados que tem invadido o mercado americano. Você não estaria produzindo pneus por dois meses inteiros. Isto pode dar Congressman Davis and friends  ao representante do Congresso Davis e seus amigos um pouco menos de satisfação nos arguementos deles perante a ITC. Ainda mais, eles não teriam que pagar para subsídiar esses pneus, e o frete dos mesmos.
Se você for um competidor, você pode ficar feliz que o preço da borracha que estará menos volátil, uma vez que um dos grandes consumidores desta mercadoria estarão fora de ação por um tempo.
As únicas pessoas que ainda tem um ponto de interrogação girando em torno da cabeça deles são os consumidores, como ninguém sabe o que pensar. Os resultados destes fatos serão bons, ruins, ou inconsequentes?
Aqui, nós não estamos segurando nossas respirações, mas se você estiver visitando Beijing, nós aconselhamos a você fazê-lo.
Continue olhando, nós manteremos vocês informados com as últimas notícias da indústria de OTR.
Desligando……

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Hey folks, we’re back with more information after a very quiet period for OTR news.

The UTC has finalized Chinese Import Duties for dumping here in the US, and all I can say is “Wow”. The top penalty that has been imposed is a whopping 210.48 percent, plus an additional duties totalling 5.62 percent.

In an interesting development, companies whose production has been cleared of rampant subsidization have seen preliminary duties levied by the UTC erased entirely. These companies should see their brand share grow, as customers see major brand tires evaporate due to steady demand.

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This past week, Michelin and Belshina announced separately that they would be upping outputs by upgrading their facilities to produce more OTR Tires.

Michelin is making a $90M investment in their Lexington, SC plant. Michelin, unfortunately is not giving any details as to how much the plant will contribute to existing tire outputs.

Belshina, on the other hand, is saying they are looking at an increase of 7%. They are currently expanding their radial facilities, and will begin producing tires for Rigid Dumpers. They will begin with tires in the 35″ range, and expand to 37 different sizes by 2010.

Keep checking in, and we’ll keep you up to date on all the happenings industry-wide.

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Any way you cut it, it’s a bad pun.

5 days ago, Goodyear raised it’s prices on OTR Tires a whopping 12%.

That stings a little. What hurts even more is the price of transporting tires in this environment. The cost of fuel is through the roof. Moving a container now runs a small fortune.

I don’t think it will hurt Goodyear’s profits any. Just like the oil companies, tire companies are building in some price increases with their raw materials allowance. A portion of that 12% will be going directly towards the gross margin on their balance sheet.

The OTR tire industry, as a whole, is in no condition to complain. There will be no relief from the supply shortage anytime soon. The manufacturers have us over a barrel.

We’ll wait and see when the other Bridgestone and Michelin decide they need to keep up with Goodyear.

We’ll keep up to date on all the happenings.

Goodyear ( ou um ano mau)?

Não importa o jeito que você rimar, o trocadilho é ruim de qualquer jeito.

A Goodyear aumentou tremendamente 12% nos preços dos pneus OTR, há 5 dias atrás.

E isto arde um pouco. O que machuca ainda mais é o preço do transporte de pneus neste meio. O preço da gasolina está acima do telhado. Para mandar um carregamento você precisa gastar uma fortuna pequena.

Penso que isto não vai atrapalhar nem um pouco nos lucros da Goodyear. Assim como as companhias de petróleo, as companhias de pneus estão lucrando com o subsídio da matéria-prima deles. Uma parte deste 12% irá diretamente para a renda bruta na folha do balanço deles.

A indústria de pneus OTR, como um todo, não está em condições de reclamar. Por hora não há nenhum alívio da ecassez de fornecimento. Os fabricantes estão com a faca e queijo nas mãos com o preço do barril.

Nós vamos esperar para ver quando a Bridgestone e a Michelin decidirão seguir os passos da Goodyear.

Nós vamos continuar informados em tudo que está acontecendo.

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Morry Taylor is known for a few things: His gruff nature, a keen business sense, and a knack for engaging book titles( If “Kill all the lawyers…and other ways to fix the government” doesn’t grab your attention, what will?).

Now, “the Grizz”, (as he is known in industry circles) has set his sights on topping himself, before Bridgestone or Firestone can. Titan already has their 73.5″ radial in production, and as far as he’s concerned “….we need an 81″ tire”. All I can say is “Wow”. This guy wants to be on top. While others are talking of expansion, he’s moved past them, towards total market domination.

We all have to respect his vision, and wonder what might have been if the other manufacturers had this kind of drive and foresight.

I guess we’ll never know…

In the meantime, let’s hope they follow through, and produce one of these monsters.

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Well folks, Titan Tire’s profits are way up.

How high? Well, 19% vs a year ago, and to the tune of 32.1 million in sales. I should have known that profits would be high, because my beloved Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommended them back on the 14th(just to let you know, folks here bought Marvel:[ MVL] instead). While you may have mixed feelings about the manufacturers as a consumer, they seem to be doing okay by their shareholders.

“The Fools” have always had a great record on stocks, and this one is more than blind luck. According to Titan, this is based on huge growth in the Agricultural division, and excluding their rollout of the ever-elusive 57″ and 63″ tires. Those have been delayed until July. Titan wants to be one of the big boys, and I would have to say that they are on their way.

Just a little side note: Have you noticed that these record profits come at a time where their raw material costs are skyrocketing? Folks, this is economics 101. Any time a producer’s costs increase, they pass that cost along to the consumer. This makes gross profits go up. If the rise in price can be offset by a slightly larger increase above the actual cost of goods, then the raw material increases contribute to profit, not decrease it. Note the revenue for oil companies this quarter, and you should be more than able to comprehend the concept.

At any rate, we’ll be right here, following every move in the markets.

Feel free to send us your comments and concerns, and we’ll try to address any of them. If they’re good enough, we might ask you to contribute.

So get to writing, and we’ll see you next time….

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O lucro da Titan está elevado

Pois bem meus amigos, o lucro de pneus da Titan está elevado.

Mais quanto? Muito bem, 19% versus um ano atrás, e na faixa de 32.1 milhões em vendas. Eu deveria ter sabido que o lucro seria elevado, porque o meu querido amigo Motley Fool Consultor do mercado de ações recomendou-os novamente no dia 14 ( só para que vocês saibam, ao invés, o pessoal aqui comprou Marvel :[MVL] ). Enquanto que talvez vocês tenham diferentes emoções a respeito dos fabricantes como consumidores, eles parecem estar se dando muito bem pelos acionistas deles.

“The Fools” sempre tiveram um ótimo recorde com ações, e esta foi mais do que sorte de cego. De acordo com a Titan, isto é baseado num crescimento enorme na divisão agrícola, e excluíndo a introdução pública e enganosa dos pneus de 57” e 63” ( pneus de 1.44cm e de 1.60cm ). Esses foram adiados até julho. A Titan quer ser um dos meninos grandes, e eu deveria dizer que eles já estão a caminho.

Somente um parêntese: você já percebeu que este relatório de lucros chega numa época em que o custo da matéria-prima deles está altíssimo? Gente, isto é economia básica. Qualquer hora que o custo do produto aumenta, eles repassam este aumento ao consumidor. Fazendo a renda líquida ainda maior. Se o aumento do preço pode ser remarcado por um ligeiro aumento acima do preço da mercadoria atual, então o aumento da matéria-prima contribui no lucro, e não no prejuízo. Perceba a renda das companhias de petróleo neste trimestre, então você deveria compreender este conceito sem problemas.

Seja qual for o índice, nós estaremos bem aqui, seguindo cada movimento do mercado.

Fique a vontade para nos mandar seus comentários e preocupações, e nós vamos tentar responder a cada um deles. E se eles forem bons o suficiente, nós poderemos até pedir à vocês para contribuirem.

Então escreva-nos e até a próxima…….

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It’s the end of April, and anything can happen, it seems.

American Tire Corporation, in what could only be called an “interesting” move, has proposed buying out Goodyear’s Topeka OTR Tire Plant. Huh?

This is the largest plant that Goodyear owns, worldwide, and ATC just wants to buy it. Who are they, Rupert Murdoch? Why in the world would Goodyear even consider selling. Even as the least desirable of the major brands in the current marketplace, Goodyear is still a major brand. Colorado, however, is not.

Call me crazy, but if Goodyear sells this plant, they are killing the golden goose. It’s not like prices are going down any time soon. If ATC is able to pull this off, it may be the coup of the decade. It would instantly make them a major brand, strictly on volume alone.

They are also talking about investing $200 Million USD to bring the facility into the 21st century, plus increasing worker wages. If the board opts to put this up for a vote at the next shareholders meeting, I think I can accurately predict where the employee vote will land.

We’ll continue to follow this one, and see where it lands. This is so bizarre.

Coming soon, DoubleCoin offers to buy Michelin.

American Tire Corporation quer uma fatia maior da torta

Já estamos no final do mês e parece que qualquer coisa pode acontecer.

American Tire Corporation, o que só poderia ser chamado de jogada “interessante”, propôs comprar a fábrica de pneus OTR da Goodyear em Topeka.

Está é a maior fábrica de propriedade da Goodyear do mundo, e a ATC simplesmente quer comprá-la. Quem são eles, Rupert Murdoch? E por qual razão a Goodyear ainda consideraria a venda? Mesmo sendo uma marca menos desejável no mercado corrente, a Goodyear ainda é uma marca de renome. A Colorado, no entanto, já não é.

Podem me chamar de louco, mas se a Goodyear vender esta fábrica, eles estarão matando a galinha dos ovos de ouro. Não é como se os preços fossem baixar a qualquer momento. E se a ATC for capaz de ganhar esta partida, isto será o golpe da década. Eles se tornariam num instante uma marca de renome, estritamente no volume sozinho.

Eles também estão dizendo que vão investir 200 milhões de dólares USD para transformar estas instalações no século 21, além de aumentar os salários dos trabalhadores. Se o conselho optar por votar por estas decisões na próxima reunião de acionistas, acho que posso prever onde o voto dos trabalhadores irá cair.

Nós vamos continuar acompanhando este desenvolvimento, e ver onde irá cair. Isto é completamente bizarro.

Em breve, Double Coin oferece comprar a Michelin.

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If this wasn’t so easy, I would have to start selling my services as a psychic. These people are just too predictable.

We have received word from various sources in the industry that Bridgestone is about to raise its prices, yet again. The magic number of 5-7% is back in play, as they will cite rising raw materials costs as their reasoning for pricing increases.

As soon as I can get some hard figures, I plan to address how much raw materials actually have increased.

Does anyone notice that every single quarter, they show continually increasing numbers on their balance sheets? I have. They aren’t making any apologies about charging more for the tires. They surely aren’t taking any less profits on the tires that they are producing.

Does this remind you of any other industry that we have seen of late?….Think about it for awhile…then send us your comments…

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Bridgestone следует примеру других

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Если бы это не было так просто, я стал бы предлагать свои услуги в качестве экстрасенса. Уж слишком все предсказуемо.

Мы только что получили сведения из разных источников, что Bridgestone собирается повышать цены. Опять. Снова появляются магические цифры 5-7%, так как в качестве причины повышения цен компания указывает рост цен на сырье.

Я собираюсь написать о том, насколько реально подорожало сырье, как только получу реальные цифры.

Кто-нибудь заметил, что каждый квартал отчеты компаний показывают все большие цифры? Я заметил. При этом никаких извинений за повышение цен на шины не слышно. И не похоже, чтобы производители получали за свои шины меньшую прибыль.

Это вам ничего не напоминает? Что мы наблюдали в другой отрасли совсем недавно? Подумайте, а потом пришлите нам свои комментарии.

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Just checking to let you know that Yokohama is raising it’s pricing on otr tires yet again.

5% is the magic number, and falls in that wonderful 5-7% range I always talk about. They claim it is due to rising raw material and manufacturing costs, but you have to wonder if they aren’t throwing in a little bit of padding there.

I’d like to see a real-world cost breakdown.

Stay tuned and we’ll see how long it will be before the other manufacturers adjust their pricing.

Let us know what you think. Leave a comment.

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Yokohama повышает цены

Пишу, чтобы сообщить вам, что компания Yokohama опять повышает цены на внедорожные шины.

Пять процентов – это магическое число. Оно как раз укладывается в диапазон 5-7%, о котором я постоянно веду речь. Компания говорит, что цены увеличиваются из-за роста стоимости сырья и производственных издержек, но остается ощущение, что говорят нам далеко не все.

Хотелось бы мне посмотреть на их реальный анализ затрат.

Оставайтесь с нами, и посмотрим, через какое время другие производители подтянут свои цены.

Напишите нам, что вы думаете по этому поводу. Оставьте свой комментарий.

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CNN has finally picked up coverage of the OTR Tire shortage on their “Money” site.

While Forbes and the WSJ have been covering this beat for a few years now, CNN has been slow to give the story exposure.

They cover the typical points: Low supply, High prices and demand.

They also quote a Bridgestone Rep. saying that the shortage will last ’til 2012.

So now, we have the two biggest players in the market agreeing on 2012 as the shortage date.

I wonder what Titan and ATC have to say about this, as they say their products will fill supply by the end of ‘09?

The full article is available for you to look at here.

Have a great day, and if someone offers you a 57″ tire for $15,000 tomorrow, remember, it is April Fool’s.

CNN Money Comenta Estória de Escassez

CNN finalmente fez uma cobertura sobre a escassez de pneus OTR no página deles “Money”.

Enquanto que a Forbes e WSJ tem coberto esta batida há alguns anos, a CNN tem estado devagar na exposição desta estória.

Eles cobrem ponto típicos: baixo fornecimento, altos preços e demanda.

Eles também cotam a Bridgestone Rep. dizendo que a escassez durará até 2012.

Então agora, nós temos dois jogadores grandes no mercado concordando na data da escassez até 2012.

Queria saber se a Titan e a ATC pensam a este respeito, como eles afirmam que o fornecimento deles durarão até o fim de 2009.

O artigo inteiro está disponível, caso queiram ler mais sobre o assunto. here.

Tenha um bom dia, e se alguém te oferecer um pneu de 57” por $15.000,00 dólares amanhã, não se esqueça, é primeiro de abril.

Michelin prevê escassez até 2012

É dificil de saber em qual compania acreditar, no mercado de pneus OTR hoje em dia:

Deveríamos acreditar na Titan e Colorado, que dizem que poderão acabar com isto até o final de 2009, ou deveríamos acreditar na Michelin? A projeção interna deles diz que nós não iremos ver o fornecimento cumprir com a demanda até 2012.

Mesmo não me considerando um perito em previsões, eu geralmente espero o pior cenário até que provem o contrário. E novamente, talvez isto seja apenas um pensamento desejoso da parte deles. Se eu estivesse ganhando uma margem de 35% em cada produto fabricado, eu iria querer que a escassez continuasse por muito mais tempo.

Pense nisto: Quando a escassez acabar e o fornecimento voltar ao normal, aquisições nas minas podem parar de implorar por estes pneus, e acabar com eles nos preços destes pneus.

Independente do que acontecer, nós estaremos aqui trazendo mais informações a você.

Fique ligado…

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It’s hard to know which manufacturer to believe in the OTR markets today:

Should we go with Titan and Colorado, who say that can end it by 2009, or should we go with Michelin? Their internal projections are saying that we will not see supply meet demand until 2012.

While I don’t consider myself an expert on the future, I generally go with the worst-case scenario until proven wrong. Then again, it may just be wishful thinking on their part.  If I was making 35% margins on each  product I was producing, I’d want the shortage to stay around as long as possible.

Just a thought: Once the shortage ends and supply is normalized, procurement at the mines can stop begging for tires, and start beating them up on the price of those tires.

Regardless of what happens, we’ll be right here bringing the news to you.

Stay tuned…

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This morning, at 6 am, Hawaii Standard Time….Mr. Maury Taylor of Titan Tire gave the keynote address at the TIA OTR Conference.

This speech was supposed to announce the specifics concerning Titan’s 63″ and 73.5″ tires.

And it did…sort of...

In the good news category:

Their press release (and his speech) announced that, instead of 6,000 large and x-large OTR tires, they would

now produce 15,000 tires per year. Titan will begin shipping a portion of these tires to mines in July

The bad news:

Mr. Taylor really didn’t answer any direct lines of questioning….even though he held a Q&A regarding the entire speech.

My source said that he was evasive at best, and would not give any specifics…period. As one friend of ours noted in a

recent email (paraphrased) “Who’s buying this additional supply.”

This was question was not answered in Titan’s press release or the Q&A, and that should make Titan investors a little jumpy.

So what’s our stance: We haven’t seen any tires yet…and we’ll wait until we do…..

Until then, we’ll just let Titan enjoy the nearly 10% bump in stock price…and hope that it is justified.

We’ll be bringing you more information from the conference as it breaks, so stay tuned…

Мори Тейлор выступает с программной речью на конференции TIA

Сегодня в 6 часов утра по гавайскому времени г-н Мори Тейлор из компании Titan Tire выступил с программной речью на конференции TIA OTR.

В своем докладе г-н Тейлор должен был подробно рассказать о планируемом выпуске шин размером 63 и 73,5 дюйма.

И, в какой –то степени, так и случилось.

Хорошая новость:

В пресс-релизе (и в докладе) сообщалось, что вместо 6 тысяч крупногабаритных и суперкрупногабаритных внедорожных шин, компания собирается производить 15 тысяч шин в год. Titan начнет поставки шин на рудники в июле.

А теперь плохая новость:

Г-н Тейлор не ответил ни на один прямой вопрос, хотя в конце выступления было специально отведено время для вопросов по докладу.

Наш источник сообщает, что докладчик отвечал в лучшем случае уклончиво и не сообщил никаких подробностей. Совсем. Как отметил в своем недавнем электронном письме один из наших друзей (не дословно): «И кто же будет покупать все эти шины?».

На этот вопрос ответа не было дано ни в пресс-релизе компании Titan, ни в ответах на вопросы на конференции, поэтому инвесторам компании стоило бы призадуматься.

Наши вывод: подождем с решением, пока не увидим шины.

А пока нужно поздравить компанию Titan c почти 10-процентным ростом стоимости акций. Надеемся, для этого имеются реальные основания.

Более подробно о конференции мы расскажем после ее окончания, поэтому оставайтесь с нами.

Maury Taylor faz discurso na Conferência da TIA

Hoje às 6 horas da manhã, horário do Havaí….O Sr. Maury Taylor do Pneu Titan fez um discurso na Conferência da TIA OTR..

Este discurso era para anunciar preocupações específicas em relação aos pneus Titan’s 63” e Titan’s 73.5”.

E de uma certa forma isto foi feito…

Na categoria de notícias boas:

Seu comunicado de imprensa ( e seu discurso) anunciou que, ao invés de pneus OTR de 6,000 grande e extra grande, eles iriam agora produzir 15,000 pneus por ano. Titan começará a expedir parte destes pneus para minas em Julho.

Más notícias:

O Sr. Taylor não respondeu a nenhum questionamento direto…embora tenha realizado P&R em relação ao discurso inteiro.

Minha fonte informou que ele foi evasivo, e não responderia nada especificamente …e ponto final. Como um de nossos amigos notou em um e-mail recente (parafrasenado) “Quem e que vai comprar este fornecimento adicional.”

Esta pergunta não foi respondida pela imprensa da Titan nem mesmo nas P&R, e isto fez com que os investidores ficassem um pouco nervosos.

Então qual é a nossa postura: Nós ainda não vimos nenhum pneu….e nós iremos esperar por isto….

Até então, nós deixaremos Titan apreciar um salto de quase 10% no preço das ações…e espero que isto seja justificativo.

Nós estaremos trazendo mais informações da conferência assim que romper, então fique ligado…

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BuyBigTires.com is proud to announce that, beginning today, we will translate our entire website into spanish.
The blog posts will come first, followed by our inventory lists and technical specifications. This is our latest effort to give power back to our end users, and we look forward to our new Latin American and European readers.

Stay tuned…the OTR Conference starts Thursday, and we will be there to bring you all the action.

BuyBigTires.com esta traduciendo su pagina web a Español.

BuyBigTires.com anuncia orgullosamente, que empezando el día de hoy, traduciremos toda nuestra página web al español.
Empezando con los blog publicados y luego con las listas de inventario y las especificaciones técnicas.
Este es nuestro más reciente esfuerzo para dar poder de decisión a nuestros usuarios, y estamos pendientes de nuestros nuevos lectores de América Latina y Europa.

Quédese con nosotros…la conferencia de neumáticos OTR inicia el Jueves, y estaremos allí para traerles los últimos acontecimientos.

Перевод сайта BuyBigTires.com на испанский язык

Администрация сайта BuyBigTires.com рада сообщить, что, начиная с сегодняшнего дня, все материалы сайта будут переводиться на испанский язык.

Сначала будут переведены сообщения в нашем блоге, затем перечень продукции и технические спецификации. Это еще один шаг по обеспечению наших конечных пользователей необходимой информацией и возможностями, и мы рады приветствовать новых читателей в Латинской Америке и в Европе.

Оставайтесь с нами. В четверг начинается конференция OTR, и оттуда мы будем рассказывать вам о всех новостях.

BuyBigTires.com traduzirá sua página da web em espanhol

Buy Big tires.com orgulhosamente anuncia que, começando hoje, nós traduziremos a página inteira da web em espanhol.

As publicações do blog virão primeiro, seguidos da nossa lista de inventários e especificações técnicas. Este é um dos nossos últimos esforços para munir nossos usuários com força total, e nós contamos com novos leitores da América Latina e Europa.

Fique ligado….a confêrencia da OTR começará na quinta-feira, e nós estaremos lá para trazê-los os últimos acontecimentos.

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Well, Titan has finally launched a prototype of their 63″ OTR Tires…

The company is advertising 20-30% gains in tread life by using their new design.

Whether or not real world testing will back these claims is another thing entirely. I am fairly sure that we predicted the announcement in an earlier post detailing Titan’s plans to produce these tires. It’s a smart PR move, as the annual TIA OTR Conference kicks off next week in Hawaii.

BuyBigTires.com will have representatives attending to bring you the latest developments in the OTR industry.

We can’t wait to hear what the manufacturers have to say this year….

Titan выводит на рынок внедорожные шины размером 63 дюйма

Компания Titan таки выпустила опытный образец внедорожной шины диаметром 63 дюйма…

В рекламе утверждается, что благодаря новой конструкции срок службы протектора увеличивается на 20-30%.

Так заявляет компания, а правда это или нет – покажут испытания шин в реальных условиях. Я почти уверен, что таким образом сбывается прогноз, сделанный нами ранее, когда мы рассказывали о планах Titan по изготовлению сверхбольших шин. В любом случае Titan продемонстрировал грамотный пиаровский ход в преддверии конференции TIA OTR, которая стартует на следующей неделе на Гавайях.

На конференции, кстати, будут присутствовать представители сайта BuyBigTires.com. Они донесут до вас самые свежие новости из жизни индустрии шин для бездорожья.

Особенно интригует, о чем поведают нам в этом году производители…

Titan lança pneus OTR de 63”

Titan finalmente lançou o protótipo dos pneus OTR de 63” …..

A compania está anunciando que o novo modelo deles oferece 20-30% de ganho de tempo de uso.

Outra coisa, é se o teste mundial confirmará se estas afirmações são reais. Estou confidente de nossa previsão, detalhando o plano da Titan de produzir estes pneus, na publicação anterior. Esta é uma jogada inteligente, uma vez que a conferência da TIA OTR começará na semana que vem no Havaí.

BuyBigTires.com terá representantes durante o evento para trazer os últimos desenvolvimentos na indústria OTR.

Nós mal podemos esperar para ouvir o que os fabricantes tem a dizer este ano…

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Here we go again….

Forbes and the AP are reporting that Titan is planning on raising pricing by up to 7% on all tires, presumably because of raw material costs.

This is not out of the ordinary. The one thing that caught my eye was squeezed in at the very end of the article.

Quote:

“Some prices may rise more than 7 percent due to realignment and positioning of product.”

Positioning, indeed. This is code speak for “We are in the position to raise pricing on OTR Tires, and you should be prepared to ‘realign’ your original budget, in preparation for an increase.”

Think about it for awhile, and read the entirety of this nonchalant little blurb here .

Titan va a Incrementar Precios

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Aquí vamos nuevamente….

Forbes y AP han reportado que Titan esta planeando incrementar sus precios en un 7% en todos sus neumáticos, Se presume que la causa es el costo de la materia prima.

Esto no es in usual. Un comentario que llamó mi atención estaba apretado al final del artículo.

Cita textual:

“Algunos precios talvez suban más de un 7 porciento debido al realineamiento y posicionamiento del producto.”

Posisionamiento, de hecho. Este es un código utilizado al hablar para “Nosotors estamos en la posisión de incrementar el valor de los neumáticos OTR, y vosotros debeis estar preparados para ´realinear´ vuestro presupuesto original, en preparación para el incremento”

Piensen en esto por un momento, y lean por complete esta pequeña e indiferente propaganda.

Titan поднимает цены

В который раз…

Журнал Forbes и агентство AP сообщают, что компания Titan планирует повышение цен до 7% на все шины, предположительно из-за удорожания сырья.

Ничего необычного в этом нет. Единственное, что привлекло мое внимание, оказалось в самом конце статьи:

Цитата:

«В некоторых случаях цены могут увеличиться более чем на 7 процентов из-за переориентации и позиционирования продукта»

Да уж, позиционирование. На самом деле имеется в виду: «Наша позиция позволяет нам повышать цены на внедорожные шины, а вы должны быть готовы «переориентировать» свой бюджет, чтобы быть готовыми к повышению цен».

Задумайтесь над этой ситуацией, а затем прочтите полностью эту небрежно написанную заметку.

Titan vai aumentar os preços

Aqui vamos nós outra vez…

Forbes e AP estão reportando que Titan está planejando aumentar os preços até 7% em todos os tipos de pneus, supostamente devido ao custo da matéria prima.

Isto não é fora do comum. Uma coisa que me chamou atenção estava bem no final do artigo.

Citação:

“Alguns preços podem subir mais de 7 porcento devido ao realinhamento e posicionamento do produto.”

Certamente posicionamento. Decifrando o código, poderíamos dizer “nós estamos em posição de aumentar os preços do pneus OTR, e você deveria estar preparado para “realinhar” o seu orçamento original, preparando para o aumento.”

Penso nisto por um mometo, e não deixe de ler nossa pequena e indiferente sinopse.

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