Global events are again conspiring to create a potential shortage for a consumer product that is as integral to Upper Valley winters as snow shovels, skis and flannel pajamas.
Local tire shops are reporting snow tire inventories are lower than usual heading into the winter, with the hardest-hit products being larger tire sizes used by specialty brands such as Mercedes, Porsche and Tesla.
“Your high-end import, luxury vehicles, those are the vehicles that will be a little more challenging this winter, especially as we get into the second half of winter,” said Mark Pollard, president and co-owner of Lebanon-based Wilson Tire Co. “The later you get into the snow season, the tougher it’s going to be to get some of those specialty sizes.”
Pollard estimates his company is experiencing as much as a 25% reduction in stock in those product categories compared with previous winters. And even if a tire center can get a certain tire model, it might take longer to arrive at the shop and cost more when it gets there.
“I can get tires for most vehicles overnight or same-day delivery, but some (snow tires) are taking three to five days, or even a week,” said Damon Jillson, service writer supervisor at the Hanover Co-op’s Norwich service center, who also estimates that the shortage has driven up prices by $40 to $50 per tire.
With each tire shop carrying its own unique brand lineup, tire availability differs from center to center. While Wilson Tire Co. and the Co-op say snow tires are the hardest-hit by the shortage, other tire centers say an even wider array of tires has been impacted.
Jim Haibon, marketing manager of Pete’s Tire Barn, which has 22 New England locations including White River Junction, says they are still seeing as much as a 15% inventory shortage across all tire products due to the lingering effects of the pandemic.
“COVID has caused shortages from manufacturers for the past 2½ years,” Haibon said. “People not coming to work because of COVID or afraid to come to work. It’s still working its way through the system.”
Tire centers also cite transportation and hiring shortage issues as contributors to the problem, though the war in Ukraine has emerged as perhaps the biggest culprit.
Industry trade publication Tire Business reports that seven major international manufacturers have plants in Russia. According to the publication, all of them have experienced either complete shutdowns or reduced operations in the wake of Russia’s invasion, as well as the resulting trade sanctions and public and political sentiment against Russia.
Global tire giant Nokian Tyres has been especially hard-hit by the war in Ukraine. According to a company news release issued last month announcing that it was selling its Russian business for $414 million, approximately 80% of its passenger car tires were produced in Russia prior to the war.
The divestiture of its Russian operations has led to a scramble to replace manufacturing capacity.
“The departure from Russia forced us to prioritize production of high-demand tires, such as our winter products,” Wes Boling, a Tennessee-based Nokian spokesperson, said in a statement emailed to the Valley News. “The (sale) mainly impacts the supply of lower-demand or lower-volume tires. And these impacts are temporary, as we are working to grow the range and volume of all-season and all-weather tires we’re making at our Dayton, Tenn., factory, while maintaining winter production in Nokia (Finland).”
Nokian’s head of supply operations, Adrian Kaczmarczyk, told Reuters earlier this month that even with ramped-up production in Finland and the U.S., lost manufacturing capacity will force the company to alter its product lineup.
“We will focus on certain product families and not produce everything that was produced in Russia,” he said.
As far as what local consumers can do to make sure they get the tires they need this winter, Wilson Tire Co.’s Pollard recommends contacting tire centers early and often.
“Some manufacturers are getting them from other sources and facilities, so check back every few weeks,” he said. “We deal with several manufacturers, so if Goodyear is out of a certain brand, we’ll look at Continental. If Continental is out, we’ll take a look at Michelin. We have several options.”
Justin Campfield can be reached at jhcampfield@gmail.com.