Skip to main content
EVENT TRACKER
Keep track of rescheduled, canceled industry events with our COVID-affected event tracker - Powered by Snap Finance
Close
Sister Publication Links
  • Rubber & Plastics News
  • European Rubber Journal
tb-logo
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • OPINION
    • CORONAVIRUS
    • AUTO INDUSTRY
    • BUSINESS/FINANCIAL
    • COMMERCIAL TIRE
    • FACTORY FIXES
    • GOVERNMENT & LAW
    • INTERNATIONAL
    • MOTOR SPORTS
    • NEW PRODUCTS
    • RETAIL TIRES
    • SERVICE ZONE
    • SEMA/AAPEX
    • SMALL BUSINESS
    • TIRE MAKERS
    • SPONSORED CONTENT
    • Tire Cologne canceled; rescheduled until 2022
      New round of Paycheck Protection Program funding opens
      Vaccine may usher sense of normalcy
      Cover-up: More retailers requiring face masks to curb COVID
    • Sumitomo adds treadwear-detection to 'Sensor Core' toolkit
      New Porsche 911 GT3 to feature Michelin fitment
      U.S. high-performance tire sector hit harder than overall market
      New McLaren supercar incorporates Pirelli's Cyber Tyre system
    • Yokohama sets ambitious goals through 2023
      Conti recalling 94,000 Conti-, General-, Barum-brand LT/SUV tires
      TravelCenters plans 6 TA Express sites in California in 2021
      Trade groups oppose minimum wage increase proposal
    • TravelCenters plans 6 TA Express sites in California in 2021
      Carlisle TyrFil broadens recycling technology options
      U.K. retreader Vaculug to promote tread rubber supplier Vipal
      TMC moves spring conference online, sets trade show for September
    • Conti recalling 94,000 Conti-, General-, Barum-brand LT/SUV tires
      Cooper expands recall of Cooper, Mastercraft grand-touring tires
      DOT issues 13 tire plant ID codes in 2020
      Commerce reduces import duty for Cheng Shin/Maxxis
    • Yokohama sets ambitious goals through 2023
      OK Tire secures exclusivity for Blackhawk tire brand
      U.K. retreader Vaculug to promote tread rubber supplier Vipal
      Execs: Goodyear acquisition of Cooper will benefit dealers
    • Bridgestone World Solar Challenge canceled due to pandemic restrictions
      Pirelli, Goodyear ink sedan racing series contracts in Canada, Europe
      Goodyear extends partnership with Nürburgring race circuit
      BFG to support ATV/UTV racers in WORCS series
    • Martins Industries launches products in 3 categories
      Carlisle TyrFil broadens recycling technology options
      New McLaren supercar incorporates Pirelli's Cyber Tyre system
      Hunter Engineering teams with Xtime inspection platform
    • OK Tire secures exclusivity for Blackhawk tire brand
      NPW hires Switzer as national sales manager
      Tire dealers see possibilities in Goodyear, Cooper deal
      Cooper expands recall of Cooper, Mastercraft grand-touring tires
    • Martins Industries launches products in 3 categories
      Marinucci: Effective road test may eliminate issues
      Our View: Shops must alter ways to attract, retain talent
      Openbay integrates messaging platform with Shop Boss
    • SEMA scholarships and loan forgiveness now available
      WTC hosting webinar Jan. 20 on load-capacity standards
      Denver's Brian Sump named AAPEX Shop Owner of the Year
      DUB, TIS Wheels founder Myles Kovacs is SEMA Person of the Year
    • Trade groups oppose minimum wage increase proposal
      New stimulus package fixes PPP loan confusion
      Vaccine may usher sense of normalcy
      2020 Review: PPP loans give boost to small businesses
    • Goodyear promotes Helsel to senior VP, global operations role
      Tire dealers see possibilities in Goodyear, Cooper deal
      USW: Goodyear-Cooper deal elicits concern, optimism
      Execs: Goodyear acquisition of Cooper will benefit dealers
    • Sponsored By Yokohama Tire Company
      7 questions to ask consumers when they need tires for a crossover SUV
      Sponsored By Yokohama Tire Company
      Stocking Tires for Crossover SUVs
      Sponsored By AppointmentPlus
      Three Important Lessons Learned for the Tire Business During a Pandemic
      Sponsored By Yokohama Tire Company
      7 questions to ask consumers when they need tires for a crossover SUV
  • SHOP FLOOR
    • BALANCING
    • DEMOUNTING
    • SAFETY
    • TIRE REPAIR
    • TPMS
    • TRAINING
    • VEHICLE LIFTING
    • WHEEL TORQUE
    • Video: Balancing Tire
      Choosing the right balancing equipment
      Safety tips for wheel balancing
      An introduction to wheel balancing
    • Video: Demounting
      Demounting Equipment
      Making rims ready for a tight seal
      Tire changer types, tips and trends
    • Video: Safety
      Making friends with OSHA
      Ergonomics on the shop floor
      Customers
    • Video: Tire Repair
      Tire repair: Shining a light on visual inspections
      Staying safe when repairing a tire
      Essential tools, materials and equipment for tire repair
    • Video: TMPS Service
      Decoding sensor data for TPMS diagnosis
      Replacement TPMS sensor overview
      The life-saving work of TPMS
    • Video: Training
      Advantages of apprentice program partnerships
      Options and resources for CE tech training
      Internship ideas to attract tech talent
    • Video:Vehicle Lifting
      All types of lifts for all types of work
      Tips and recommendations for lifting safety
      The gravity of proper lift points
    • Video: Wheel Torque
      Using torque sticks to speed service times
      The danger of too much, too little torque
      The importance of torque specifications
  • Multimedia
    • VIDEOS
    • PHOTOS
    • PODCASTS
  • Events
    • ASK THE EXPERT
    • LIVESTREAMS
    • WEBINARS
    • SEMA LIVESTREAMS
  • Data
    • DATA STORE
  • Resources
    • DIRECTORY
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • ADVERTISE
  • DIGITAL EDITION
  • Awards
    • Tire Dealer Humanitarian Award
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
June 17, 2020 11:00 AM

Mid-Year Report: Sumitomo says retail customers ‘hungry' for information

Name
[email protected]
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    For the past three months, Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc. (SRNA) has conducted COVID-19 Dealer Resource Forums in order to keep dealers informed from a manufacturing perspective. Richard Smallwood, CEO and president of SRNA, discussed the success of the forums, as well as the United Steelworkers' (USW) latest petitions for antidumping and countervailing duties, with Tire Business.

    Q How would you describe business thus far in 2020?

    A Business started a little slow this year, but we believe it was due primarily to shipments at the end of 2019 being greater than demand. Dealers needed a little time to sell through that excess inventory and bring inventory back into healthier levels.

    Q What are some of the key changes the company has made in order to keep employees and customers safe during the pandemic?

    A At the corporate office, we transitioned all employees from a work-at-the-office scheme to a work-from-home scheme. The transition was flawless, and I believe we were able to maintain service levels as good as before.

    We started the process of returning employees to the office in stages starting May 11, and then took all of the precautionary measures such as checking temperatures, requiring COVID-19 antibody testing, ensuring social distancing, requiring masks be worn and frequent cleaning of all high-touch areas.

    At the warehouses, it was similar, but we also eliminated will calls and prohibited any outside visits.

    Q SRNA has been conducting Dealer Forums for several months. What benefit have you seen from them?

    A Our objective was to provide a forum for our customers where they could hear from others what was happening on a broader scale from different segments of the business and different parts of the country.

    Our customers were hungry for information for what others were experiencing, and we wanted to help them hear from others what was happening. We have received amazingly positive feedback from our customers, which has encouraged us to maintain these webinars for as long as our customers feel they are valuable.

    When our customers feel there is no longer any value in us conducting these webinars, we will stop doing them.

    Q What have you learned most from dealers through the forums? What has the response been?

    A Overall, the biggest lesson for us is that the dealers wanted to know if they were the only ones going through a rough time, or if they were having a more difficult time than others. When they began to hear that all of us, large and small, are going through a similarly challenging time, they felt much better about their particular situation.

    Q Do you expect any supply difficulties in the second half of the year?

    A From an industry standpoint, I would expect there to be some inventory imbalances caused by the plant shutdowns. No matter how hard we all try to forecast the future, we rarely predict it perfectly.

    From an SRNA standpoint, we will emerge out of this situation with slightly better inventory in key product lines, but it will largely depend on when the market returns to normal levels, and how consumers shift buying preferences between the different price positions in the market.

    Q What are some of the pleasant surprises you are seeing in the industry?

    A Market recovery has been quicker than we have anticipated, and fewer dealers have gone under than we feared.

    Q The USW has petitioned for antidumping and countervailing duties on passenger and light truck tires made in Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. What is your company's reaction to that?

    A Despite the fact that we do have a U.S. factory, we are very disappointed to hear of the USW's actions. The reality is that we all need a global production base in order to effectively build the enormous amount of sizes and tire types required to satisfy the market.

    Our reaction will be to obviously fight back against their actions, but what we do after that we'll have to talk about at a later date. I do believe, however, that this will, in the long term, impact the USW membership negatively.

    Q How might additional duties impact the industry?

    A Tire prices will go up accordingly, and the American consumer will lose out. And if history is any lesson, very few, if any, new American jobs will be added. I believe that is what is called a lose-lose proposition.

    Q Where do you see the industry markets heading during the second half of 2020?

    A Shipments will eventually return to a sense of normalcy, but it is largely dependent on when states begin to fully open up and Americans get back to work. With 40 million Americans losing their jobs because of COVID-19, my suspicion is it will take a while to get back to normal levels.

    Q What kind of trends are you seeing? How is Sumitomo/Falken reacting to them?

    A We have seen a fairly robust improvement in shipments, which is positive, but there has also been a shift from the higher price levels to the lower price levels, which is fairly typical after economic problems occur. Being a Tier 2 supplier, that has been positive for us.

    Q What sectors look strong? Are they sustainable?

    A Light truck and CUV have been the strongest, and based on new vehicle sales, we would expect that to continue for quite some time.

    Q What sectors are struggling? How soon do you expect them to rebound?

    A The touring segment appears to be the most negatively impacted.

    Q Do you expect to roll out any additional products in 2020? What will they be and what sector will they serve?

    A We do not plan on launching any new products in 2020.

    Q In February, SRNA announced price hikes by up to 5%. Do you foresee any more hikes in the second half?

    A The combined volatility of rapidly changing raw material costs and fluctuating demand make that a nearly impossible question to answer.

    Q Do you expect any major investments in the next six months?

    A We will continue to invest in our Buffalo production facility, but that is all we see for North America at this time.

    Q What are some of the challenges of the industry? What keeps you up at night?

    A My concerns are on more of a macro level. From what the data shows us, our younger generation is less interested in vehicle ownership and on obtaining a driver's license than previous generations. How will that effect the number and types of vehicles on the road in the future?

    The next is the continuing consolidation of tire retailers and tire wholesalers.

    Our industry has been incredibly fragmented for such a mature industry, but as the consolidation continues, what will the landscape look like in the next five to 10 years?

    Finally, there are far too many different tire manufacturers globally. If we look at what has happened in other mature industries and apply those lessons to ours, it would be natural that there will have to be consolidation and business closure on the manufacturing side.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Tire Business would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor Don Detore at [email protected].

    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Newsletter Center

    Staying current is easy with Tire Business delivered straight to your inbox.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Subscribe to Tire Business

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Tire Business is an award-winning publication dedicated to providing the latest news, data and insights into the tire and automotive service industries.

    tb-logo
    Reader Services
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Site Map
    • Industry Sites
    • Order Reprints
    • Customer Service: 877-320-1716
    Partner Sites
    • Rubber & Plastics News
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Automotive News
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • Urethanes Technology
    RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Media Guide
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Classified Rates
    • Digital Edition
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • OPINION
      • CORONAVIRUS
      • AUTO INDUSTRY
      • BUSINESS/FINANCIAL
      • COMMERCIAL TIRE
      • FACTORY FIXES
      • GOVERNMENT & LAW
      • INTERNATIONAL
      • MOTOR SPORTS
      • NEW PRODUCTS
      • RETAIL TIRES
      • SERVICE ZONE
      • SEMA/AAPEX
      • SMALL BUSINESS
      • TIRE MAKERS
      • SPONSORED CONTENT
    • SHOP FLOOR
      • BALANCING
      • DEMOUNTING
      • SAFETY
      • TIRE REPAIR
      • TPMS
      • TRAINING
      • VEHICLE LIFTING
      • WHEEL TORQUE
    • Multimedia
      • VIDEOS
      • PHOTOS
      • PODCASTS
    • Events
      • ASK THE EXPERT
      • LIVESTREAMS
      • WEBINARS
      • SEMA LIVESTREAMS
    • Data
      • DATA STORE
    • Resources
      • DIRECTORY
      • CLASSIFIEDS
    • ADVERTISE
    • DIGITAL EDITION
    • Awards
      • Tire Dealer Humanitarian Award