Can we Truss government to turn UK motorways into autobahns?
Following the headline-grabbing news that Liz Truss is open to the idea of turning the UK motorway network into an autobahn-style system, we took a closer look at the idea. Of course, we all know that both Truss and Sunak are electioneering at the moment, doing their best to tell tory members what they think they want to hear. But, however sincere the motivation turns out to be, dispatching with the speed limit will have an inevitable impact on both road safety and the tyre market. So, with that in mind, this month’s column is something of a thought experiment. What would happen if Liz Truss became prime minister and got her way when it comes to turning motorways into autobahns?
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Toyo partnering with 2022 European Athletics Championships
This year, the European Athletics Championships take place in Munich, Germany between 11 and 21 August and will host some 4,700 athletes from 50 nations. Toyo Tires is supporting the event as a partner.
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Chinese tyremakers encouraging European customers to claim back truck tyre tariff payments
On 4 May 2022 the European Court of Justice ruled that anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs imposed against Chinese produced truck tyres in 2018 must be annulled. We take a close look at the ruling and the immediate impact on retreaders and Chinese tyremakers alike from page four of June’s bilingual Retreading Special supplement onwards. But what about the tariffs charges that have already been paid? And what about the ongoing impact of the tariff annulment?
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MOT interval madness as the business faces 1 million more tests in 2022
OTR tyres, seasonal tyres (such as winter and all-season products) and the tyre retail business are our key features this month. As important as the development of the OTR and seasonal tyre segments undoubtedly is, the combination of tectonic shifts in the UK tyre retail landscape and transport secretary Grant Shapps’ decision to once again suggest changing MOT frequency have stolen my column’s attention this month. On the latter point, NTDA chief executive Stefan Hay was understandably riled to learn that Shapps is retreading the meddling-with-the-MOT path (something readers can read more about in the UK section of Mays magazine). Either way, renewed focus on MOT protocol is firmly connected with the ongoing development of the tyre retail business.
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Ukraine war continues putting tyre production under pressure
At the start of the year this column predicted a positive 2022 for the tyre business on the basis that we are better prepared for the unknown because of the adaptions made during the last few pandemic years. I still believe that. But my thesis is being tested by the implications of the now month-long war in Ukraine. All our expectations are being tested. For example, never before have I received an email which switches from normal editorial matters to “our country has been invaded” from one line to the next.
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How will war in Ukraine impact European tyre production?
The tragedy of war always has repercussions. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the end of February is no exception. With reports of thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of people already displaced, the human cost is incalculable. While blood is being spilt in Ukraine at a horrifying rate, this war is being fought on at least three fronts: military, electronic and financial. The human cost of the military dimension is beyond the scope of this publication. Likewise, cyber-warfare is probably a bridge too far (unless we are talking about vehicle cyber security, which is of increasing importance right down to the aftermarket garage level – see pages 16 to 17 of our forthcoming March edition for more on this). The economic cost of the war in Ukraine, however, will have an inevitable impact on European tyre production directly due to conflict and indirectly due to logistics and the impact of sanctions.
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Expansion – production has changed, but it is certainly ramping back up again
Last month, this column suggested that “acquisitions, consolidation and sustainability” were three words that will sum-up developments in the tyre business in 2022. Judging by what has taken place in the weeks since that text was published, the overall argument was pretty sound. However, in retrospect it also seems pretty clear that we could have, and perhaps should have, added in a fourth term – “expansion”.
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Key tyre industry themes for 2022: acquisitions, consolidation and sustainability
A quick glance at our recent top 10 articles of 2021 email offers a unique overview of the major themes of the last 12 months. Since most of those issues are ongoing stories, they bring with them a useful insight into some of the things we can expect in 2022 – an insight that can be summarised by these three words: acquisitions, consolidation and sustainability.
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Who cares what tyres are made from? – BTMA
The US Energy Information Administration recently forecast that the global light-duty vehicle fleet (essentially cars, vans and pick-ups) would increase by 70 per cent by 2050. Closer to home, the UK Department for Transport has forecast that car and van traffic will increase by 35 per cent and 70 per cent respectively over the next 30 years. By another measure and more immediately, global consumption of natural rubber for tyre manufacture is forecast to increase by 33 per cent by 2030.
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Looking forward to a better 2022, despite “disruption”
At the end of the year, it is customary to look back at the preceding 12 months as well as to look forward at what the future has to hold. One way our culture sums up the past year is to nominate a fitting word that encapsulates the spirit of the age. Last year our word of the year was “unprecedented”. This year the (OED) Oxford English Dictionary word of 2021 is “vax”, which offers us all – as if it were needed – a reminder of the continuing presence of Covid-19 during the last year.
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Our growing digital archive led to some blasts from the past
Earlier this year a retired tyre industry veteran got in touch to ask if we wanted any of his old copies of Tyres & Accessories. While our archives stretch all the way back to our first edition in 1946, outside the British Library there were some gaps in the first couple of decades. So, we jumped at the chance. The offer of vintage editions from the swinging 60s also comes at a time when we are working hard on digitising our back catalogue. So far, the 132 copies going back to 2010 have been through the process and are now available online. And the first decade of the millennium (2000 to 2010) is also well underway. From here, the goal is to work back in time until we have a full complement. So, should you want to look into the history of your company or find out what happened in the tyre business on an important date such as an anniversary – our digital archive will be there to help you reminisce. And if there is a particular historic article you think we should digitise sooner rather than later, please get in touch via theeditor@tyrepress.com to let us know which edition we should transfer to the digital realm and why.
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Raw material as well as shipping costs to remain headwinds
At the start of 2021 we published a headline suggesting that “shipping costs [were] temporary” and “price increases less so”. While that article was based on the latest third-party data as well as the expert opinion of a leading wholesaler, it now looks like shipping cost woes are set to continue well into 2022 and that – while they have softened recently – raw material costs will remain headwinds during the next year or so as well.
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They were good years – an obituary for Tyres & Accessories’ publisher, Klaus Haddenbrock
On 25 August 2021, we received the tragic news that Klaus Haddenbrock had passed away, aged 77. The team at Tyres & Accessories, along with those from our sister firms in Germany and Italy, join the Haddenbrock family in mourning a man who was a role model to those who knew him well, a source of ideas and, above all, someone with whom we could share our cares and troubles as well as our interests. We will sorely miss our publisher and managing director, and our grief is only mitigated by the fact that his death – while years too soon – was sudden. This is how he’d wished it.
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Comment: Tyre fitters are here to stay
In addition to the latest news and analysis, July’s edition of Tyres & Accessories features the aftermarket, van tyres as well the agricultural/industrial/speciality tyre sector. The latter has proved to be amongst the most resilient sectors during the turbulence of the last year or so. The former two reflect changing market dynamics. In short, many things have changed in the automotive and tyre spaces. And the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated that change. But some things stay the same.
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Tyres Industry Publications: the next 75 years
The consumer tyre advice site WhatTyre and a new paywall-free digital archive of Tyres & Accessories magazine lead a range of new services from Tyre Industry Publications. The 75-year milestone for Tyres & Accessories magazine is not just a moment for retrospection. Our industry is in a state of technologically inspired flux. The past 18 months of crisis and upheaval have also been a catalyst for increasing the pace of change. At Tyre Industry Publications (TIP), we have taken this opportunity to consider the role our independent tyre industry media outlets play in the rapidly changing present and future. Our value-added information continues to offer a vital service to the tyre business but presenting this information in the right way for our readers is crucial. It also presents the ideal place for the most targeted advertising to trade buyers and – with our new consumer facing site WhatTyre – in-market audiences.
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