What’s the next big thing in truck tires?

More commercial rubber suppliers are leaning into data as they digitize their tire offerings for trucking fleets. Fleet Maintenance affiliate Modern Tire Dealer recently asked some of the major commercial tire companies: What's the next big thing in truck tires?

“Mobility has completely transformed because of technology, and we believe it will continue to evolve as fleets become more in tune with their operation through data,” according to Chris Tavares, executive director of commercial marketing at Bridgestone Americas. “By equipping truck tires with sensors, commercial fleets are receiving insights that are changing how fleets make business decisions.”

Connected products and services are the key to fleet efficiency and profitability, according to Shawn Uys, head of replacement truck tire for Continental Tire. “Our digital tire monitoring solutions are the future of tire management and allow us to partner with the fleet and the tire dealer to adapt to specific customer needs and not an ‘off-the-shelf’ product. This is exactly what fleets are seeking today,” he said.

More regulations, increased last-mile operations, and battery-electric vehicles are driving a lot of the changes too. “The list goes on and on,” noted Dan Funkhouser, VP of commercial sales at Yokohama Tire. “While we have an eye on all of that and remain engaged in what the future of our industry will look like, we have to also remain focused on the here and now. We have to exceed the unmet needs of our channel partners today.”

Brian Sheehey, SVO at Ralson Tire North America, is seeing more product improvements as EV development grows in the coming years. “As we see the lack of investment in internal transportation infrastructure (for example: rail and pipelines), there will be significant dependence on trucking to move products from point to point,” Sheehey told MTD. “There will also be a focus on renewable or alternative energy power supply for trucks and other vital machinery."