February 2011
The price of natural rubber has risen by 65 per cent in recent months after tapping across south-east Asia was disrupted by poor weather and flooding.
Prices have already tripled in the past two years and the heavy rainfall, which has affected collection and production, has further forced costs up and stocks down.
Major manufacturers are now warning that prices for their goods may have to rise to offset increased production costs.
Tyre companies including Bridge-Continental, Michelin and Goodyear have already been forced to pass on some of the rises to their customers and analysts believe further hikes will inevitably follow.
While prices for natural rubber remain just short of their all-time high on exchanges around the world, demand did decrease during the financial crisis.
However with some economies beginning to climb out of recession, demand has started to improve once again.
Analysts have predicted further price rises in the coming months.
Job Jacob, senior economist at the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries, told the Financial Times, he expected conditions to worsen.
He said: “The concerns over natural rubber supply are likely to persist until the end of 2011.”
January 2011
Nearly half of motorists would like to see winter tyres be made mandatory in the UK according to a new poll by Motorpoint.
An online study by the car supermarket found 46% of people supported the introduction of legislation that would compel drivers to fit winter tyres (often known as snow tyres). Over 1,400 people took part in the poll on the company’s website – www.motorpoint.co.uk.
Although The Tread Shop has only been operating for less than a year it has seen the business grow quicker than anyone could have predicted, the company has just taken on a further 1500 sqft of industrial space to make room for more stock and satisfy more happy customers.
The company now holds in excess of 6000 tyres in stock, all tyres are pressure tested and checked for damage on state of the art testing equipement .
IT’S SOMETHING of a unique business and a very clever one at that.
The Tread Shop hasn’t been in Chichester for long but already it’s establishing itself as a key player in the motoring industry. They supply top-branded part-worn tyres to dealers and customers in the UK, including Continental, Michelin, Pirelli and Bridgestone tyres.
Each tyre is sourced within Europe and is also hand selected by The Tread Shop to ensure its suitability and quality. The tread depths range from 4mm- 8mm.
“It’s been excellent. We started out only as an eBay shop and we continue to do a thriving on-line business with a perfect rating for service from our customers. The business started last summer, but we only started organising and setting up the business with premises in November and now direct sales at our Chichester location represents a substantial and growing portion of our business.”
The Tread Shop sources from all over Europe but also deals with local scrap yard dealers. Often, one in five tyres on a car in the UK is brand new because the spare tyre is rarely used. Winter rules in certain European countries mean that many of their tyres have 4 or 5 mil of tread left in them and are still great to drive on in the UK. This is where we come in. All of the tyres are then priced based on what life they have left in them.
Tyres are an expensive item and use natural resources in production, by recycling the tyre you are not only getting the full life out of the tyre, but you are stopping the tyre from going to landfill sites and you are also doing your bit for the Environment. They also dispose of all there waste tyres in a environmentally conscious way via another local business who recycle the rubber into other products.
The company stocks over 6000 branded tyres; both for the high end market but also for general car, taxi and van stock. Next day delivery service is offered and if you are within 25 mile radius of the warehouse The Tread Shop may be able to deliver the tyres to you within the same day. Also, the Tread Shop has qualified and trained tyre fitters to replace, balance and fit all tyres on site in Chichester.
For a selection of tyres available for delivery, contact The Tread Shop and they will send you their full stock list. Check them out at www.thetreadshop.co.uk or on www.ebay.co.uk (The Tread Shop) or contact them directly at: sales@thetreadshop.co.uk Tel: 01243 537393 The Tread Shop Ltd, Chandler Road, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8UE