Tires for Distributors

Tires are a volume business. Margins depend on buying the right sizes in the right quantities, landing them at a competitive cost per unit, and selling them before they age. Thailand is a significant tire manufacturing country, with production by international and regional brands.

Specifying tires

Every tire line in a request should include:

• Size, for example 265/65R17 or 7.50R16
• Load index and speed rating, or ply rating for some light truck and commercial tires
• Construction: radial or bias
• Tube type: tubeless, or tube type with tube and flap
• Application or pattern type: highway terrain, all-terrain, mud-terrain, commercial highway or mixed service
• Light truck designation where needed, such as LT sizes or reinforced construction for pickups under load
• Brand and pattern preferences, or openness to alternatives

Pickups and SUVs used for work often need light truck or reinforced construction rather than passenger tires of the same size. Confirm the load rating required for your customers' vehicles and use. See tires.

Market requirements

Some destination countries require tire conformity certification, registration or specific sidewall markings. Identify these requirements before ordering so compliant products can be selected. See certifications.

Date codes and storage

Tires carry a manufacturing date code on the sidewall. Many buyers set a maximum age at the time of shipment. State your requirement in the RFQ so date codes can be checked during quality control. At your warehouse, store tires away from sunlight, heat and ozone sources, and rotate stock first-in, first-out.

Loading tires

Tires fill container volume long before weight in most cases:

• Loose loading, with tires stacked or laced together, maximizes the number of tires per container but takes longer to unload
• Palletized or banded loading reduces the count per container but speeds handling
• 40' high cube containers are commonly used for tire-heavy shipments

The number of tires per container depends heavily on the size mix, so container plans are calculated from the actual quoted sizes.

Mixing tires with parts

Tires can share a container with auto parts and batteries. Dense items such as brake parts and batteries on the floor, combined with tires, can use both the weight and volume capacity of a container effectively. See mixed container shipments.

Building a size range

Start from the vehicles most common in your market, their original equipment tire sizes and your sales history. Popular pickup and SUV sizes typically make up the core range, supplemented by commercial sizes for trucks. See vehicles and markets.

Next steps

Upload your tire list with sizes, ratings and quantities, or contact us to plan a container.