Wild road service tales

By Joy Kopcha

What’s more scarce at your tire dealership — tires or people? If you can’t pick one, you’re not alone. The nation’s largest commercial tire dealerships have been grappling with shortages on both fronts.

On the tire side, dealers are doing everything they can to secure the tires their customers need. They’re working closely with tire manufacturers to communicate needs, sourcing new brands to fill in gaps and paying sky-high shipping rates to secure orders.

At the same time, tire dealers are educating their customers on these supply chain challenges.

As for the shortage of people, the tire industry is part of a universal call for help.

Dealers are searching for workers in any number of ways and are offering sign-on bonuses, higher wages and more benefits to attract workers. They’re dedicating cash to retain workers, too.

It sets up a challenging backdrop, to be sure — sell tires, which aren’t readily available, with people, who aren’t readily available. Not to mention, the costs of tires and people have both accelerated.

But dealers have found a way.

Dealers in the U.S. list ......................40

to expect the unexpected .................42

work: King Tire, supplier team up ...44

product names, technologies ..........46

expands distribution network .........47 Vipal brings equipment to NA..........47 Commercially Viable .........................48

Commercial tire dealers are facing supply issues at every step of the process.

Brian Chase, regional sales manager at Frederick, Md.-based Rice Tire Co., says, “We rely heavily on our purchasing team to keep the tires we move in stock. While they do a tremendous job, several tires and sizes are out of our control.

“We’ve had to sit down with customers and make them aware of what’s happening in the tire world and let them know even if we don’t have the specific tire they like to run, we will make sure to always have a way to keep their fleet up and running.”

Kevin Good, vice president of Good Tire Services, says his Kittanning, Pa.-based dealership has been forced “to stock some products we haven’t before and/or stock slightly heavier on some items.”

Don Mead, CEO of Bradenton, Fla.based Callaghan Tire Inc., says supply is tight across the board.

“Fill rates run in the 25% to 35% range, with the remainder on back order.

“The majority of back orders are filled within two to three weeks in most critical sizes and applications, but overall, it’s hand to mouth.”

Rick Benton, who runs the wholesale division of Whiteville, N.C.-based Black’s Tire Service Inc., calls the lack of top-brand medium truck tires a “major issue,” which has been compounded by multiple price hikes. (Some tiremakers have raised prices four times in 2021.)

“It costs dealers so much more now to stock and carry the inventory. A $300 truck tire now costs 25% more. Imagine all the cash flow it ties up.” And on top of that, import tire prices have gone up, too, due to freight and container surcharges. Those imports — and the still-rising fees associated with them — continue to be a pain point.

John Ziegler Jr., vice president of Ziegler Tire & Supply Co., which is based in Massillon, Ohio, says pricing and supply issues have forced his company to adapt its inventory strategy.

“We have hedged our orders more aggressively to try to keep product coming in the pipeline.”

The inventory situation has revealed a few silver linings. At Callaghan Tire, Mead has identified at least three.

The first is that tiremakers have been good about sharing what’s coming down the pipeline, “giving us line of sight to their expectations for the next four or five months.”

That gives the dealership the time to talk to customers about switching to another option if their preferred product isn’t immediately available.

And at times, says Mead, “we have used our retreading capability to ease their pain.”