Cheap imports hit retreaders

London - In a recent meeting with UK government ministers, the Retread Manufacturers Association (RMA) presented data illustrating how the ‘dumping’ of cheap tires is having a “devastating impact” on the retread tire industry across Europe.

According to the RMA, evidence of ‘dumping’ taking place is clear by simply comparing the cost of raw material and the retail price of Asian imports.

For a truck tire, which typically weighs 60kgs, the materials cost approximately £1.16/kg (€1.65/kg), giving an overall total cost of £70 – roughly €100, it estimates.

However, explained RMA, these tires are retailing in the UK market at around £73, leaving a margin of just £3 for manufacturing, transportation, import duty and profit.

“That is an impossibly low amount for a commercial operation to sustain without significant subsidies from a backing organisation or government,” the RMA said.

The association called on the UK government to take urgent action to allow the local retread industry to compete on an “equal footing” with the “cheap and subsidised imports flooding in.”