Toyo hikes U.S. tire prices 6%
CYPRESS, Calif.—Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. raised prices Jan. 1 in the U.S. on passenger, light truck and commercial truck tires by a weighted average of 6 percent.
“The continuous fluctuations in currency exchange, raw materials and oil prices make it necessary for us to re-evaluate our pricing and make adjustments accordingly,” said John Hagan, senior director of sales.
Toyo last raised truck tire prices July 5 by an average of 9 percent, and on passenger/light truck tires on June 1, by an average of 8 percent.
In Canada, Toyo Tire Canada Inc. raised prices Dec. 1 on summer and all-season passenger and light truck tires by up to 5 percent and on Oct. 1 on certain Toyo medium truck tires by 10 percent.
Industry scholarship deadline nears
BOWIE, Md.—Feb. 6 is the deadline for eligible students to apply for the 2012 Michelin/Tire Industry Association (TIA) scholarship.
TIA will award $5,000 to three recipients who are pursuing a post-secondary education, the trade group said. Part-time employees of TIA-member tire dealers are eligible to apply, as are dependent children of full-time employees of those dealerships.
Judges will evaluate scholarship applicants according to academic achievement, extracurricular activities and community leadership qualities, TIA said.
For more information, visit the TIA Facebook page or call 864-268-3363.
Michigan agency offers tire grants
LANSING, Mich.—The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is offering $500,000 in grants to public and private operators working to recycle scrap tires.
The Scrap Tire Market Development grants, made available through the Scrap Tire Regulatory Fund, will reimburse up to 50 percent of the cost to purchase scrap tires and/or equipment or for research and development to provide a new or increased use for scrap tires.
The DEQ will accept “letters of interest” received or postmarked on or before Jan. 30. Interested persons must submit a letter of interest and be approved by the DEQ before submitting a full application.
More information is available by going to www.michigan.gov/deq, and then clicking the link regarding the grants, or calling 517-241-2924.
Truck tonnage edges up in Nov.
ARLINGTON, Va.—The American Trucking Associations' advance seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 0.3 percent in November over October after rising 0.4 percent in October vs. September.
Compared with November 2010, tonnage increased 6 percent, the largest year-over-year gain since a 6.5-percent increase in June, the ATA said.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, was 2.6 percent below the previous month.
ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello noted that “tonnage levels continue to point to an economy that is growing, not sliding into a recession.” Tonnage is up 2.3 percent, he added, and is at its highest level since January 2011.
He said two primary factors that have helped boost truck tonnage in recent months are increased manufacturing output and lean retail inventories.
TIA issues CTS training schedule
BOWIE, Md.—The Tire Industry Association (TIA) has released its schedule of dates for Certified Commercial Tire Service (CTS) instructor classes.
As in past years, the classes will be held in Denver and Baltimore.
The Denver dates in 2012 will be Feb. 28-March 2, April 24-27 and Nov. 13-16, TIA said. The Baltimore dates will be March 20-23, Sept. 11-14 and Oct. 16-19.
Students in the CTS instructor classes are qualified at 400 Level Certified CTS Instructors and can go back to their places of business to certify employees or co-workers as 300 Level Technicians, TIA said.
Yokohama adds Tire Tips video
FULLERTON, Calif.—Yokohama Tire Corp. has added an installment to its “Tire Tips” educational video series, this time focusing on smart tire buying advice in a tough economy.
The new video offers cost-saving advice, including information on when consumers should replace their tires, how many new tires they should put on at a time and things to consider in selecting an appropriate replacement.
The video is the sixth edition in the series, which Yokohama launched in 2010. The other videos focus on: fuel efficiency; choosing summer, all-season and winter tires; selecting the right tire for a truck; how to read a tire's sidewall; and how to keep tires properly inflated.
All the Tire Tips videos are on Yokohama's YouTube channel.
OTR Conference to feature Taylor
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif.—Maurice “Morry” Taylor Jr., chairman and CEO of Titan International Inc., will be the keynote speaker at the Tire Industry Association (TIA) Off-The-Road Tire Conference, to be held at the Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage Feb. 15-18.
Jack Lengyel, legendary Marshall University football coach, will be the motivational speaker at the OTR Conference. Mr. Lengyel, who rebuilt the Marshall team after it was wiped out in a November 1970 plane crash, was the subject of the 2006 film “We Are Marshall.”
Angie Jones, general manager, marketing, of Bridgestone Americas' Off-Road Products Divison will present the 2011 U.S. Industry OTR tire production numbers for both OE and replacement units, giving attendees the supply picture for 2012.
“Last year, there were nearly 500 attendees representing 16 countries, making it abundantly clear that the Tire Industry Association's Off-The-Road conference is the place to be for the networking opportunities and educational sessions led by the top experts,” said Roy Littlefield, TIA executive vice president.
For more information about TIA and the OTR conference, call 800-876-8372.