©Entire Contents Copyright 2018 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. February 12, 2018 THE TIRE DEALER’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1983 $79 per year, $4 per copy INSIDE Monro to rehab Bridgestone unveils Global Sustain- store look, review able Procurement Policy...............3 tire portfolio OSHA issues citations against Goodyear for safety violations .....3 By Bruce Davis Tire Business staff GRI opens state-of-the-art plant in Sri Lanka .....................................3 ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Monro Inc. is looking to modernize its retail stores Zhongce Rubber Group looks to Winning over the coming few years for a build on 2017 success ..................4 more consistent Monro optimistic despite third-quar- appearance and ter loss ............................................ 4 layout regard- less of brand her- together itage and struc- tural differences. The initiative, Tire market facts ............... 9-24 Kramer says new mobility called “Monro Forward,” will North American OE, replace- ecosystem could launch wave encompass mea- Ponton ment market shares ..............10 sures to update Retailers, tire production by how the company communicates state ......................................12 of growth in tire industry with customers by simplifying and DOT codes list ................ 15-31 updating materials such as service estimates, invoices and inspection Top franchise groups ............18 forms, Monro CEO Brett Ponton told U.S. performance tire trends; the nancial community in a Jan. 30 vehicle sales .........................24 Tire Business photo Don by Detore conference call. Auto service trends, facts .....26 Goodyear Chairman, CEO and President Rich Kramer addresses dealers at the company’s recent Customer Mr. Ponton did not disclose the scale of investment Monro is budgeting for Leading wholesalers, vehicle Conference in Nashville, Tenn. the initiative, which seeks to provide registrations .........................28 By Don Detore for tires only will increase. a “consistent best-in-class” experience DEPARTMENTS Tire Business staff “Here’s your headline: We believe that these trends for customers at the company’s 1,100- have the potential to launch a brand new wave of growth plus retail stores, which do business Automotive Service ................ 7-8 NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The mobility ecosystem of tomorrow in the tire industry,” Mr. Kramer told a group of 2,000 under 10 different brand names, re- Classifieds ................................33 may not resemble anything like the highways of today. attendees at the 2018 Goodyear Customer Conference, ecting the company’s growth-by-ac- Editorials ....................................6 The vehicle may look completely different than the one including 1,550 dealers. The event was held Jan. 25-27 that sits in your garage. It probably not only will com- at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center See Monro earnings LATE NEWS municate with other cars on the road but also with the in Nashville. story on page 4 infrastructure it uses, the service shops that will repair it “As electric autonomous eets become more accepted, and the individuals who program it. And there’s a great and beyond that, more preferred, their usage is going to quisition strategy of the past decade. Goodyear suffers chance it will be powered electrically, making the com- dramatically increase,” he said. Monro is segmenting its stores double-digit drops in bustion engine obsolete. Mr. Kramer said the 10 trillion miles traveled around the by format and size to determine the operating income But, according to Goodyear Chairman, President and globe translates roughly to 1.5 billion tires sold annually. It investment and timeline required CEO Rich Kramer, there is one common thread between stands to reason that if the number of miles traveled global- for this “light” store refresh. Details AKRON — Goodyear suffered dou- the cars of today and the vehicles of tomorrow: Tires. ly doubles, so will tire consumption — to 3 billion. should be forthcoming with the re- ble-digit drops in segment operating With forecasters predicting that vehicle miles traveled “Think about our share of that incremental growth,” lease of the fourth-quarter/year-end income for the quarter and scal year globally will double to 20 trillion miles by 2030, demand See Kramer, page 34 nancial results in May. ended Dec. 31 and reported a tax-re- The company will start with a pilot form-related net loss for the quarter. program in three markets and then Goodyear cited elevated raw mate- roll it out across the rest of the stores rials costs and the “unfavorable” im- Market Data: Shipments up, production down over several years. pact of reduced production volumes At the same time, Monro is review- on costs for the operating earnings By Bruce Davis This revelation plays out against re- Inc.’s in Clarksville, Tenn.; and Kum- ing its tire portfolio, looking to opti- declines, and said the fourth-quarter Tire Business staff cord U.S. aftermarket passenger and ho Tire Co. Ltd.’s in Macon, Ga. — mize its product mix in order to align loss was driven by a $299 million medium truck tire shipments and a in the past 18 months would boost each store’s inventory more closely one-time, non-cash tax charge relat- AKRON — A funny thing happened on relatively at year for imports. domestic production. Together these with its local demographics and vehi- ed to U.S. tax reform. the way to the anticipated revival of At the same time, a new report three plants represent nearly 20 mil- cle population, Mr. Ponton said. The tire maker’s sales, on the oth- U.S. tire manufacturing — production from GfK Group states that U.S. tire lion units of new annual manufactur- On a broader basis, Mr. Ponton said er hand, rose 8.8 and 1.4 percent in fell in 2017 for the second straight year. retailers reported a drop of 5.6 per- ing capacity, Monro’s tire assortment review identi- the quarter and year, respectively, Despite billions of dollars of in- cent in tire sales last year, including a In reality the U.S. industry collec- ed several gaps on its tire portfolio, re ecting the positive effects of im- vestment in capacity expansions, 26-percent plunge in winter tire sales. tively produced 1.1-percent fewer car particularly in the mid- to higher price proved price/mix and favorable cur- the opening of three tire factories in These and other trends can be (121.3 million) and 7.7-percent fewer points. rency translation and volume. the U.S. in the past couple of years gleaned from this year’s Market Data light truck (26.1 million) tires last year He did not elaborate on the compa- Unit volumes climbed in the quar- and record aftermarket shipments, Book, which starts on page 9 in this than in 2016, according to the latest ny’s brand selection but said Monro ter but fell for the year, Goodyear said. U.S. output of passenger and light issue. gures from the USTMA. is re-evaluating its in-store product See Goodyear , page 34 truck tires fell in 2017, according In terms of U.S. production, it was One possible explanation for part materials and visual merchandis- to the latest industry data from the anticipated that the commissioning of of the dip is the conversion of capac- ing as part of an effort to re ne its Get up-to-date information at the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Associa- three new plants — Giti Tire Group’s ity at several factories to larger rim selling approach. The revised tire Tire Business website tion (USTMA). in Richburg, S.C.; Hankook Tire Co. See Data, page 31 See Monro , page 34 http://www.tirebusiness.com Have a sip of coffee. 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By Miles Moore sets minimum requirements to conduct ing and disease prevention, he said. The citations and ­ nes are as follows: Senior Washington Reporter business with Bridgestone, as well as It also continues to work on alterna- SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. — The U.S. Occu- • Dirty and wet workroom ¦ oors, preferred practices that can contribute tive sources of natural rubber, such as pational Safety and Health Adminis- $8,638; TOKYO — Bridgestone Corp. is adopting to faster realization of sustainable sup- guayule and dandelions, as well as the tration (OSHA) recently issued seven • Lack of personal protective equip- a new Global Sustainable Procurement ply chains, it said.