Cooper continuing production adjustments

Findlay, Ohio -- Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. said today it continues to adjust production schedules at its US facilities primarily due to raw material shortages but also as a result of soft demand in the North American tyre market.

The estimated impact of these adjustments was $9 million to $11 million in the third quarter, Cooper said.

The company cited the recent hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast areas as continuing “to impact our suppliers' ability to provide sufficient raw materials to maintain full production at Cooper's US facilities.”

As a result, it said it is dedicating raw materials to those plants with products needed to meet customer needs. In addition, it is employing flex labour schedules at all plants as long as the need to allocate raw materials remains.

By flexing work schedules and sharing time off, Cooper said it is attempting to avoid layoffs at any of the plants, adding, the situation is dynamic and may change depending upon whether the availability of materials improves or diminishes. The company said it is informing employees of work schedules as appropriate.

Cooper earlier said it was forced to curtail production at all of its North American facilities from Sept. 23 to Sept. 28, because of continuing raw material shortages in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)