Firestone: Farm tire demand drives ‘buy local' trend

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The U.S. farm tire market continues to enjoy strong sales amid high demand for equipment and customers' desire to buy from local suppliers.

"It's been strong since the fourth quarter of 2020, and we're anticipating further industry growth in 2023. We're seeing it both in the OE channel, as well as the aftermarket or dealer channel. Both channels are anticipating year-over-year growth," Tony Orlando, president of Firestone Ag at Bridgestone Americas Inc., said.

"We've been in a period where the equipment in the field has aged and it's time to purchase new equipment. That has resulted in new equipment being sold with new farm tires.

"Or in the aftermarket, you've got old equipment and now farmers can't buy new equipment (due to supply shortages), so they are extending the life as much as they can with existing equipment. Collectively, that is resulting in strong demand and year-over-year growth."

There is some concern farmers could be impacted by higher import costs and rising interest rates, but farmer profitability has been enhanced by higher crop prices. So, it's a relatively good time to purchase equipment, he said.

When it comes to buying equipment or tires, there is a growing desire to buy from local suppliers, due to overseas shipping backlogs.

"Like a lot of manufacturers, whether equipment or tire manufacturers, we're seeing interruption in the supply chain. We are seeing the OE customers, and even to some extent farmers, tending to purchase local for local," he said.

Bridgestone's ag tire plant in Des Moines, Iowa, has been trying to increase its employment since 2021, with goals of increasing production by double-digit percentages, Orlando said.

He said the company is not adding tire capacity. "We've got capacity, we just need people."

New labor contracts with the United Steelworkers should provide financial incentives to bring more people into the plant, he said.

Similar to the rest of the tire market, demand is exceeding supply.

"All manufacturers are doing all we can to add people and capacity to keep up with demand, including ourselves," he said.

In North America (U.S. and Canada), the farm tire market is roughly 60 percent radial and 40 percent bias, he said.

As radial tires slowly replace bias tires, they are expected to carry greater loads as farm equipment gets bigger.

Orlando said Bridgestone continues to bring more radial, high-horsepower-application farm tires to market, such as its Firestone Maxi Traction, introduced in 2019.

Demand for rubber tracks is as strong as for tires, he added. The company expanded its rubber tracks offering with the introduction of Maxi TRI-X in 2021.

"The benefit of a track over a tire is it minimizes compaction for farmers. Right now, farmers are trying to do all they can to maximize yield, to get those higher grain prices. And one option for some operations is to use a track versus a tire, particularly in muddy conditions," he said.

Among farm equipment OEMs, "there is a little bit of cannibalization of tires due to tracks, but nothing that's going to impact things near-term.

"Just like with tires, we are evaluating options to grow our capacity in rubber tracks," he said.