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TPMS Cadillac XT5 – 2022

Otr Tiremakers Forecast Big Year For Construction Tires

Mike Manges By

Fifteen months after the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed into law, shovels are ready to hit the ground. That’s great news for tire dealers who sell tires for construction, roadbuilding and other applications.

OTR tire suppliers elaborate — while providing a snapshot of last year’s OTR tire market and more — in this MTD exclusive.

MTD: What was the biggest trend that impacted the OTR tire market in 2022?

SCOTT HOLUB , manager, OTR technical services, Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT): Price increases and freight surcharges had the biggest impact on the OTR tire market in 2022. Increases in raw materials, higher freight charges, the cost of restarting manufacturing plants, the availability of containers, port congestion and continuous high inflation drove the cost of OTR tires up.

The higher prices drove dealers to look for different manufacturers that were less expensive and more value-driven.

Prices seemed to stabilize in the fourth quarter of 2022. Controlling raw material costs is one way to stabilize tire costs, and at BKT, we built our own carbon black plant to lower our costs and improve quality.

With the disruption in supply chain coming out of the pandemic, supply — although much better than 2021 — was still a problem in 2022. Supply started slowly and became increasingly better as the year went on. Construction inventory was sporadic, while mining inventory was still strained.

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“The bigger opportunity for growth in 2023 is in construction tires,” says Bruce Besancon, vice president, marketing, Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America Inc. “The huge federal commitment to rebuild and maintain infrastructure will put a lot of people and machines to work.” remains top of mind. As a company, we aim to reach carbon neutrality and the delivery of tires made from 100% renewable materials by 2050.

That focus exists in the commercial tire space, as well, including OTR. At Bridgestone, we want our products and solutions to maximize efficiency, while conserving natural resources and reducing emissions in our business operations.

Prioritizing sustainability in products and solutions ultimately results in longer total wear, less unplanned downtime and tires — or more specifically, raw materials and resources — saved over time.

Tech-savvy customers are becoming a bigger part of the market, as well. Today’s customer wants innovative solutions that deliver real-time updates on every aspect of his or her operation, with safe and reliable equipment for the jobsite. They also want this in the palm of their hand.

TONY CRESTA , director of product management, CMA LLC: Availability was once again a very important factor in

2022 across all OTR segments. We have seen demand steadily increase coming out of the 2020/2021 global shutdowns.

Double Coin’s U.S. warehouses continued to support our customers, while our factory did a fantastic job of keeping up with the demands of the growing market.

MATT FUTRELLE , head of business field, earthmoving, Continental Tire the Americas LLC: The biggest trends in 2022 were keeping up with high total demand, focusing on being a reliable supplier to the original equipment manufacturers as they dealt with various supply chain struggles and finally the large fluctuations in material, energy and logistics costs.

Employee turnover and retention seem to be a big topic in North America for the industry, although fortunately, our OTR group remained quite stable.

LOIC RAVASIO , general manager, global Americas OTR business, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.: In 2022, there were several trends that combined to impact the OTR tire market. As an industry, we saw that production and supply both rebounded coming out of the global pandemic, but are still ramping up.

Shipping also impacted production and distribution — making waves throughout the year.

Some market challenges persist, but as a whole, the industry is dealing with external issues and finding ways to deliver for customers.

JIMMY MCDONNELL, vice president, marketing and sales, Maxam Tire North America: Supply chain challenges and associated logistical costs regarding ocean freight (have) impacted the timeline of delivery for customers, as well as availability of some products. While we try our best to leverage our relationship with ocean freight companies and vendors, this has impacted some of our pricing as the business had to adjust (to) the increased logistical costs.

. DAVID SMITH, brand manager, construction, Michelin and Camso, Michelin North America Inc.: Infrastructure growth in North America proved to be so significant that it put a major strain on all global manufacturers that serve this continent.

Road work, bridge building and structure erection are at all-time highs, which in turn have created significant demand on the OTR tire market. This trend will continue throughout 2023.

STEPHEN REYNOLDS, OTR director, Triangle Tyre USA: It would be difficult to discuss trends in the market in 2022 without mentioning both COVID-19 and the supply chain. Blockages in many logistical chains eased throughout 2022.

In addition, with COVID-19 losing its status as a crisis in the U.S., the market really began to ramp up production for most minerals to catch up on lost production in 2020 and 2021. We saw steady growth in demand for OTR tires in 2022 as a result.

BRUCE BESANCON, vice president, marketing, Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America Inc.: The biggest trend impacting the 2022 OTR tire market was its volatility.

Society — and the tire industry with it — hit 2022 at a full run after two years of lockdowns and pent-up purchasing power. A flood of orders, skyrocketing raw material and transportation prices and