Since the economic fall in 2008, people have been struggling to stay afloat with their business’.
Luckily for most tyre manufacturers they have been able to stay open due to people not stopping buying tyres.
“Many tyre manufacturers shut down their plants during the financial crisis and so are playing catch up even today,” says Micky Bassi, a director at Tyremasters Limited, a Kenya Top 100 company. “Supply is still way behind demand and with manufacturers unable to cater for everybody, we have to be careful and plan way ahead to ensure we get the supplies we need.”
Usually, it takes 90 days for confirmed shipment to arrive from suppliers overseas. Sometimes it takes as long as six months and the company doesn’t always get what it wants. “Tyre manufacturers were hoping the situation would stabilise by March this year but it didn’t happen,” says Mr Bassi.
“At the moment tyre prices in Kenya are changing every 15-20 days. We can absorb small price changes but a level reaches when we have to pass on the increasing cost to consumers,” says Mr Bassi.
“This upward trend is expected to continue until worldwide supply stabilises.
