The latest American Transportation Research Institute Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2024 Update notes that rubber is one of the highest costs for fleets. While per-mile tire costs in the first quarter of 2024 fell 1.8%, they were at a record high in 2023, up 2.2% on average per mile compared to the previous year.
With tire costs a top fleet priority, manufacturers point out that because commercial tires are engineered for specific applications, choosing the right tire is crucial to ensuring continuous performance and meeting operational demands.
“The specific use of a tire profoundly influences its design,” Joe Hughes, urban product category manager at Michelin North America, explained. “Long-haul operations benefit from tires designed with long, even wear and low rolling resistance, with tailored tread patterns and material compositions. Tires for on/off-road applications need to emphasize durability against cuts and tears and incorporate sturdy sidewall designs.”
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There are many factors to consider when selecting tires for your fleet, noted Valentino Faraone III, regional VP and new product development manager at Double Coin. “Fuel efficiency, debris evacuation, scrub resistance, and casing robustness are some of the features that may or may not be important,” he said.
“Tread compounding and pattern selection are among the keys for realizing expected tire performance,” said Shaun Uys, VP and U.S. market manager for commercial vehicle tires at Continental Tire. “The goal when designing tread patterns and compounds is to balance rolling resistance, mileage, durability, and traction to achieve the desired performance in the intended application.”
Rich Cottrell, senior director of commercial marketing at Goodyear North America, said understanding the type of vehicle the tire will be used on will inform decisions on tire performance features and benefits. “Consideration should be given to operating conditions such as load-carrying requirements,” he related. “Matching your fleet to tires with the right tread durability and a purpose-fit design will ultimately help limit service issues and improve uptime.”
In a 2024 Commercial Vehicle Tires & Retreading study conducted by Endeavor Business Intelligence in conjunction with FleetOwner, Fleet Maintenance, and Modern Tire Dealer, 68% of fleet respondents cited tread life as the top concern with truck tires today, followed by tire quality (62%) and operating costs (56%). Among respondents who selected tire quality, 46% ranked it first.
For fleets, addressing tire uptime and longevity is clearly important as well.
