A New Supply Chain Reality

Pandemic-era shortages may be over, but geopolitical conflicts, volatile freight costs and shifting trade policies are creating a new generation of challenges for the tire industry.

Just a few years ago, the tire industry was grappling with factory shutdowns, container shortages and clogged ports as the COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities throughout the global supply chain. While those unprecedented disruptions have largely subsided, a new set of challenges is testing manufacturers, distributors and dealers once again.

This time, the threat is not widespread production shutdowns, but geopolitical instability, volatile energy prices, shifting trade policies and unpredictable freight costs. Industry executives say the supply chain is far more resilient than it was during the pandemic, but they also caution that the operating environment has become increasingly difficult to predict…

Source: Fleet & Mobility