The Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB) recently completed their 3rd Annual Survey on the State of the Retread Industry. They surveyed members on the state of the retread industry in 2024 and looking ahead to the rest of 2025. Whether addressing revenue impacts, the biggest challenges facing our industry, headcount plans, or investment plans… the survey provides interesting insight from and for TRIB’s members.
Below are some of the question and answer highlights from the survey:
1) Where are your operations based?
– North America: 78%
– Europe 8%
– Latin America: 6%
– Asia: 3%
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2) Types of retreads you manufacture:
– Commercial Truck: 86%
– Light Truck/Passenger: 48%
– Industrial: 38%
– Off-the-Road: 33%
– Agricultural: 24%
– Aircraft: 5%
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3) Did your revenue increase/decrease in 2024?
– Decrease: 63%
– Increase: 23%
– About the same: 14%
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4) What revenue changes are you forecasting for 2025:
– Increase: 63%
– Decrease: 14%
– About the same: 23%
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5) What are your plans for your workforce headcount in 2025?
– No Change: 57%
– Increase: 29%
– Decrease: 14%
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6) What are the biggest challenges facing your business (ranked in order of importance on a scale of 1-10):
– Human resource challenges: 6.37
– Low-cost imported tires: 5.97
– Rising costs: 5.34
– Casing availability: 5.11
– Supply chain issues: 5.03
– Regulatory/Legislative challenges: 4.03
– Misconceptions about retreading: 2.97
(Low-cost imported tires has steadily risen in importance from 6th two years ago to 2nd this year)
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7) As a retreader, what are the biggest challenges in production at your retread plant?
– Workforce turnover: 55%
– Increasing operating costs: 55%
– Workforce training/know-how: 25%
– Machinery Downtime/Maintenance: 5%
– Scrap rate: 5%
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8) What type of investments have you made in 2024 or plan to make in 2025?
– Minimal Investments: 36%
– No additional investments: 36%
– Large Investments: 24%
– Looking to sell: 3%
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9) Are you investing in automation and/or artificial intelligence in your business?
– No: 62%
– Yes: 38%
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