Magazine for the professional tire industry
Issue link: https://mtd.epubxp.com/i/630954
MTD January 2016 Happy 50th anniversary (to us!) Modern Tire Dealer's Facts Issue celebrates the past and present I n 1966, Modern Tire Dealer published its frst "Facts Issue." The highlight of our five-page Facts Section may have been the history of tire shipments, courtesy of the Rubber Manufacturers Assocation. Fify years later, our 2016 Facts Issue has 13 pages of 2015 industry statistics covering everything from tire shipments to North American plant capacities. Te highlight, however, is our market share data, which breaks down replacement and original equipment consumer tire brand shares (pages 52-56) and truck tire brand share (page 58). We even assign shares to the various distribution channels (page 66). Because this is our golden anniversary issue, we have added a special nine-page historical section that follows this introduction. And to tie the past and the present together, we lead it of with a tribute to renowned cartoonist George Booth, who added humor and insight to our articles throughout four decades. In honor of the occasion, we asked him to draw the cover of this issue (I particularly like the chicken peeking out of the stack of tires). You will see samples of his MTD work not only in the special section, but also throughout our issue. Why? Because many of his cartoons are as relevant today as they were when they were frst drawn. Te importance of our annual issue cannot be overstated. As former Editor Lloyd Stoyer said in our silver anniversary issue, "in a period of rapid transformation, of globalization, acquisi- tion and intense competition, the statistics and comparisons in our 'Facts' section take on even more signifcance." Looks like nothing ever changes. — Bob Ulrich Facts section: then and now Farm $500 million OTR $1.6 billion Truck $6.4 billion Light Truck $4.8 billion Passenger $24.4 billion 2015 U.S. REPLACEMENT TIRE SALES (a $37.7 billion industry) In 2014, U.S. replacement tire sales totaled $38.3 billion. All fgures in the special 23-page Facts Section are Modern Tire Dealer fgures unless otherwise noted. 30