TYRE prices in Qatar are to go up by 5-15% in September, the third increase this year, industry sources said yesterday. Prices were revised upward by 5-8% in February and by another 5-10% some three months later. In 2007, there were two price revisions. Importers of major brands such as Dunlop, Bridgestone and Pirelli attributed the price increase to a global rise in transportation and raw material costs. "Oil, understandably has been the number one factor behind price increases. The other factor is raw material for tyres such as rubber, pigments and carbon becoming dearer," said an official of Dunlop, Qatar. According to him, notices have been received by all the distributors in Qatar from the Association of Tyre Manufacturers in this regard and the new prices will be effective on the supply received in September. Sand tyres will be costlier by up to 15%, heavy truck tyres 10%, light truck tyres 8% and car tyres 5%. Qatar also faces a shortage of tyres of certain brands and sizes. "One reason is a significant increase in global demand," explained an official of the exclusive distributor of Toyo tyres in Qatar. According to him, the demand for tyres is rising worldwide as people continue to buy more vehicles on the back of rising economies and greater purchasing power. "Even the tyres being produced in China, whose tyre-grades are the lowest and the cheapest, have become expensive, as only 60% of their factories are working right now, with the rest contributing to the Olympics," he noted. "Sometimes we request for 100 tyres and get only 50-70," he said. The shortage intensified some two months ago, according to sources. "Another reason was a law introduced by the authorities as part of the standardisation efforts in the country, where every tyre has to carry a date of manufacturing otherwise known as DOT," explained the dealer of Pirelli tyres. This law, although passed in 1995, was implemented some two years ago. All tyres must have a date of production on them and cannot be sold after two years. For instance, a tyre that was produced in the third week of August this year will show the DOT as 3808 and cannot be sold after the third week of August 2010. The shelf-life of a heavy-truck tyre is 30 months and it has to be discarded if not sold within that time. "This has resulted in importers restricting their orders fearing waste of money in case stocks are not completely sold out. Hence the shortage," the dealer said. Once the tyres cross the expiry date, dealers cut them to pieces and discard them at a municipality-designated location. Authorities carry out regular inspections to ensure that the distributors comply with the rules. Note: go kart wheel jbl speaker parts bike disc brake fork lift part hitachi spare parts honda atv wheels hitachi excavators parts hanging lamp parts gas pump parts fiat spare parts foam shoulder pads electromagnetic clutch brake iron cast wheel hydraulic spare parts Phone Spare Parts Go Kart Tire toyota hiace parts fiat tractor parts tyre and rim sell auto parts usb dual shock scooter 3 wheel iron cast parts machines spare parts Door Lock Part final drive parts Valve Spare Parts Motor Spare Part Car Electric Parts LPG Gas Cylinder |
