Winter tires made in Asia are likely to cost 10% to 15% more this year, in particular because of the crisis that has plagued the entire logistics chain of global shipping for months.
“We are living in a perfect storm,” confirms the vice-president of Groupe Touchette, David Giguère. After COVID, production stoppages, increases in material prices, it is now transport problems. All of this will likely translate into higher prices for consumers. “
While some brands may experience more modest increases (5% for example), others may experience increases of 10%, 15% and even 20% compared to last year, confirmed several sources joined by The newspaper over the past few days.
The tires of Asian companies are the most at risk of experiencing sharp increases, explains David Giguère. “But since many of the major American and European brands (Bridgestone, Goodyear, Michelin, Pirelli, etc.) have also relocated their production to lower-cost countries such as China, Thailand and Indonesia in recent years, we cannot can’t really identify specific brands. “
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Cold sweats
The partial closure of the Chinese port of Ningbo-Zhoushan, the third largest on the planet, is the latest event to have left tire retailers sweating. After a two-week hiatus, his activities resumed two days ago.
Never mind, in the current context, it would be difficult to avoid price increases.
“Manufacturers pay up to $ 10,000 more per container [en provenance de l’Asie] », Illustrates the vice-president of marketing of Distribution Stox, Patrick Lavoie, who acts as an intermediary between manufacturers and retailers.
“There is a bottleneck at the container level,” he continues. Once a container has been found, you have to find a boat. And here too, there is a lack of space. ”
No shortage
So beyond the price, we are also worried about having to deal, not with a shortage of tires, but with more limited varieties this winter.
“We placed our orders earlier to avoid delivery delays. But even there, it remains a concern, ”explains Mr. Giguère.
Ditto for Distribution Stox which does not foresee a shortage this winter either. The majority of the necessary tires are already in its 17 distribution centers.
However, we do not hide the fact that the delivery rate of orders of different brands from Asia is lower than those from North America.
Maritime transport: Difficulties could be felt for another “good year”
The difficulties experienced by international maritime transport since the start of the pandemic are likely to be felt for a long time, fears a specialist in maritime transport.
“The problems are so numerous that we are not about to see the situation subside,” said Chantal Grenier, director of maritime transport activities at Groupe Xtreme, a logistics and international transport broker in the Montreal region. If some think it will take months, with us we do not really consider it before a good year. “
China on Wednesday lifted health restrictions on the port of Ningbo-Zhoushan, the third-largest cargo port on the planet.
The partial closure of the latter, for weeks, has only amplified a chaos that has lasted for months and has the consequence of increasing the costs of goods available to consumers.
A real mess
The latest case concerns tires. The newspaper has learned in recent days that winter tires, a large number of which are manufactured in one or another Asian country where the costs are lower, could see their prices rise by 10 to 15% this fall.
The main reason mentioned: the explosion of transport costs.
“Containers have become overpriced,” confirms Mme Attic. While we could get away with just under $ 5,000 in March 2019, the smallest 40-foot container in Asia can cost $ 25,000 today! “
“Take it or leave it,” she explains. If you say no, another will say yes. And even once after agreeing to pay, some go so far as to demand a premium for loading the container onto the ship. It’s a real mess. “
The situation is not new, but has worsened in recent months. The Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, and other shipping giants cannot regain the upper hand.
– Martin Jolicoeur
Tire brands from Asia *
- Ironman
- Nexen
- Kumho
- sailun
- Toyo
- Westlake
- Yokohama
* It should be noted that many major brands, from American and European tire manufacturers, also manufacture their tires in Asia.
Source : CAA, QMI
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