Analysis: The 3 Top Issues Tire Dealers Should Track in 2022

From surprise acquisitions to supply chain, pricing and labor challenges, 2021 delivered plenty of punches. Industry analyst John Healy has tracked them all and has insights for tire dealers of what issues will be the most important to monitor in the months ahead.

Healy — who tracks the domestic tire industry for Northcoast Research Holdings LLC and also writes MTD’s monthly Your Marketplace column —will cover all the details in a series of articles. This is the first of five parts.

Future pieces will cover pricing actions and tariffs, mergers and acquisitions, the state of the Goodyear-Cooper deal, and how outside factors such as the new and used car markets will continue to affect the tire industry.

MTD: What are the three most critical things independent tire dealers should monitor and prepare for as 2022 begins?

Healy: From our seat, there are always pillars of the business that should be focus areas — those pillars being service, the customer and good product. But to answer your question in a more direct way, we would highlight three focus areas for dealers large or small — one, technician retention; two, access to product/inventory; and three, e-commerce initiatives.

The consensus view among dealers we spoke with in 2021 has been that …

Source: MTD