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December 5, 2003
The Honorable Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D.
Administrator
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
400 7th Street, S.W.
Washington, DC 20590
RE: Docket No. NHTSA-03-15400 - Support for Petition to Reconsider
Dear Dr. Runge:
The Tire Industry Association (TIA) is writing in strong support
of a Petition to Reconsider submitted by the Denman Tire Corporation
on August 7, 2003, regarding the Tire Recall Enhancement, Accountability
and Documentation (TREAD) Act final rule for tire testing standards
(68 Federal Register 38116, June 23, 2003).
TIA is an international association representing all segments
of the tire industry, including those that manufacture, repair,
recycle, sell, service or use new or retreaded tires, and also
those suppliers or individuals who furnish equipment, material
or services to the industry. TIA was formed by the July 2002
merger of the International Tire & Rubber Association (ITRA)
and the Tire Association of North America (TANA).
TIA strongly urges the Agency to permit limited production specialty
radial tires to remain regulated under Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards 109 or 119. Denman has proposed that the definition
of limited production tires be those tires that are of similar
size and design with less than 15,000 units manufactured per
year.
Both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Small Business
Administration’s Office of Advocacy agree that NHTSA’s
analysis and conclusion that small business would not be negatively
impacted was incorrect, and TIA agrees with that assessment.
TIA believes this final rule will have a significant economic
impact on small manufacturers, contrary to NHTSA’s Regulatory
Flexibility statement regarding this final rule. TIA believes
NHTSA should conduct further analysis and minimize the impact
on small tire manufacturers by granting Denman’s petition.
The intent of the TREAD Act was to make the public safer regarding
their tires. The specialty radial tires in question are primarily
used by car hobbyists or enthusiasts — people who know
how to maintain their tires. These tires are not typically mass-produced
and to our knowledge have never had significant safety problems.
Putting small manufacturers through FMVSS 139 for these specialty
radial tires will cause them to go out of business with no evidence
to justify the need.
In conclusion,
TIA strongly urges NHTSA to grant the Denman Tire Corporation’s
Petition to Reconsider and exclude specialty radial tires from
FMVSS 139. Allow specialty radial tires that are limited in
production with size and design of less than 15,000 tires per
year to follow FMVSS 109 and 119 as you have done for specialty
bias ply tires.
TIA appreciates the opportunity to submit these comments and
is willing to assist NHTSA in any way possible. If you have
any questions about our comments, please contact me at 703-642-3162.
Sincerely,
Becky MacDicken
Director of Government Affairs
Tire Industry Association
January 2,
2003
Dr. Jeffrey
W. Runge
Administrator
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
400 7th Street, SW
Room 5220
Washington, DC 20590
Re: Petition for Reconsideration - Docket No. NHTSA-02-13678
Dear Dr. Runge:
On behalf of the 4,000-plus members of the Tire Industry Association
(TIA), I am entering this Petition for Reconsideration requesting
that NHTSA reconsider the portion of the Final Rule relating to
Tire Safety Information (67 Fed Reg 69599, November 18, 2002)
that extended to retread tires the enhanced labeling requirements,
specifically the requirement that tire sidewall labeling appear
on both sidewalls of retread tires (Standard No. 117, S6.3, incorporating
Standard 139, S5.5 "Tire Markings"). The Final Rule
was adopted pursuant to the Transportation Recall Enhancement
Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act (Public Law 106-414).
Background
TIA was formed July 1, 2002 when the Tire Association of North
America and the International Tire & Rubber Association merged
into a single entity. Our membership is comprised of tire dealers,
wholesalers and distributors, manufacturers and retreaders, businesses
that sell, service and recycle tire and rubber products, as well
as companies that provide equipment and services for the tire
industry.
Introduction
While TIA supports many sections of the Final Rule, and is very
pleased with the agency’s decision to retain the maximum
inflation and cord material & ply information on the sidewall
of a tire, we are requesting that the agency reconsider the inclusion
of passenger/light truck retread tires in the enhanced labeling
requirements of the Final Rule for the following reasons:
•
The Purpose of the TREAD Act Will Not be Served by Including Retread
Tires; and
• The Shrinking Passenger/Light Truck Retread Market and
the Economic Impact on That Market.
Purposes of TREAD Act Will Not be Served by Including Retread
Tires
The TREAD Act was passed by Congress as a result of the massive
Firestone Wilderness ATX tire recall of 2000. The intent of the
Act was to collect data from tire manufacturers that could detect
"problem tires" more quickly so that the public would
be safer. The TREAD Act was also written to improve the quality
of tires, through updated safety standards and improved labeling,
and to insure that companies reported performance problems of
their tires, even if those problems occurred out of the United
States.
Expanding the reach of the TREAD Act to passenger/light truck
retread tires would not advance the purposes of the Act. As noted
in the preamble to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in
connection with this rulemaking, the purpose of the enhanced labeling
requirements of the TREAD Act is to "assist consumers in
identifying tires that may be the subject of a recall." Retread
tires have never been the subject of a recall. Moreover, the "consumers"
of retread tires are not, by in large, members of the general
public who are unsophisticated about tire labeling and safety.
There will never be a widespread recall of retread tires similar
to the Firestone recall. The retread market is quite small and
is dominated by commercial purchasers who have access to well
trained service personnel. As a consequence, the tires will more
than likely be mounted correctly with the labeling on the outside.
If they are not, the service technicians will know where to look
for the labeling information and will have the equipment to do
the inspection. Consumer protection will not be enhanced by requiring
that labeling be on both sidewalls of retread tires and the costs
and potential damage to this segment of the industry is substantial.
The Shrinking Passenger/Light Truck Retread Market and the
Economic Impact on That Market
The passenger/light truck retread market is a shrinking market.
NHTSA states in the Final Rule:
"Retread
tires are a small part of the market for light vehicles. Because
the cost to change the mold to add a second TIN or partial TIN
is spread over a smaller market, the cost increase per retread
tires will be higher by an unknown amount."
This final
tire labeling rule could be the death of the passenger retread
industry. NHTSA did not consider in its rulemaking the different
manufacturing processes used within the retread industry nor the
differences in the manufacturing process between the retread manufacturers
and the manufacturers of new tires.
TIA surveyed its retread members about this Final Rule and its
economic effects. The difference between pre-cure and mold-cure
retreading processes will have a direct effect on the cost impact
of this Final Rule. Those retreaders who mold-cure will incur
higher expenses in retooling their molds than those who use the
pre-cure process and use a branding iron to label their tires.
NHTSA also stated in the Final Rule that:
"…the
agency estimates the cost burden imposed on retread manufacturers
at approximately $600 per retread manufacturer if costs are similar
to those of other tire manufacturers. Costs may be higher due
to economies of scale but the agency believes these impacts will
not be economically significant. For instance, even if the costs
to retread manufacturers were ten times higher than for the other
manufacturers ($6,000), this figure would represent a minimal
impact to retread manufacturers."
The average mold-cure retreader estimated the costs of this ruling
to be in the thousands of dollars (between $2,000 - $10,000),
causing them to raise their prices between $2-5 per tire. As an
already shrinking market, bringing the cost of passenger/light
truck retreads closer to that of new tires will cause many retreaders
to lose business and ultimately to close their shops.
The output of a typical retread plant for passenger/light truck
tires is very low. The top five United States shops have the following
retread tire volume (1.):
1)
Wingfoot Commercial Tire Systems produces 660 light truck retreads
per day from 61 plants – an average of 10.8 tires per day
per plant.
2) Les Schwab Tire Centers produce 150 light truck retreads per
day in one plant.
3) Mt. Morris Tire Service produces 175 passenger retreads and
55 light truck retreads per day in one plant.
4) Purcell Tire & Rubber Co. produces 130 light truck retreads
in 7 shops
5) Retreads Unlimited, Inc. produces150 passenger and 50 light
truck retreads in one plant.
Conclusion
Because passenger/light truck retread tires are such a small portion
of the U.S. tire market and because retread tires are predominantly
used for commercial applications, the cost benefit of extending
the enhanced sidewall labeling requirements to those tires is
difficult to justify, particularly since there has never been
a recall of retread tires. Moreover, TIA believes that the projected
expense of the Final Rule as it relates to retread tires is greatly
underestimated for the passenger/light truck market.
TIA therefore respectfully requests that NHTSA reconsider the
provision of the Final Rule that extends the enhanced sidewall
labeling requirements applicable to new tires to retread tires.
The latter should be exempt from having to place sidewall labeling
information on both sidewalls of retreaded tires.
Respectfully submitted,
Becky MacDicken
Director of Government Affairs
Tire Industry Association
11921 Freedom Drive
Suite 550
Reston, VA 20190
703-736-8082
1. Statistics
from Tire Business, April 15, 2002, pg.11.
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