We recognized the need to be emotionally connected to our tire size calculator

When much of the country was shut down, Clave said the company made a conscious effort to reach out to customers, not even for the purpose of a sale but just to let them know they were out there.

"We recognized the need to be emotionally connected to our dealer base," he said.

The ability for ETD to stay in business during the pandemic revolved around safety.

"Our logic was pretty simple, 'we have to be safe in order to remain safe,' so our protocols were very strict," he said. "We talked about hygiene, literally, on the hour within our corporate office."

The pandemic brought an increase in safety precautions, brief production stops globally and sudden increase in consumer demand, he said. The supply chain is overloaded, and the shortages aren't just on the supply side, either. Maintaining staff at every level of the supply chain is problematic, too.

ETD announced it is "hitting pause" on plans for its associate dealer program Express Car tire size calculator.

"Many programs were impacted in the last couple years, and this was one of them due to manpower," Clave said. "One of the things we have come to realize is manufacturers are now starting to build programs very similar, so we decided to step back and analyze the program and make some determinations as to what the program will look like moving forward."

Despite these constraints, demand keeps growing. Passenger tire shipments in U.S., for example, rose by 20 million units in 2021 over 2020, according to the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association.

"Inventory management is going to play a key role in your profits going forward, no question," Clave said.

The company believes inventory shortages will continue throughout the year, Clave said, due to delays from overseas, shipping challenges and container shortages.

Tire Business photo by David Manley

JW Marriott Marco Island resort in Marco Island, Fla.

ETD said it is getting assistance from "collaborative forecasting and made-to-order productions."

The company said manufacturers are taking steps to increase fill rates with improved days of sales coverage, increased order frequency and targeting volume increases on the most popular and profitable tire SKUs.

"2022 looks like it will be as tight as 2021 with some very slight improvements," he said.

Tire prices rose about 20% in the last year, Clave said, and the cost to manufacture rose around 24%. This is due to several factors, including increased freight and raw materials costs, and recent increased tariffs in southeast Asia.

"There's no way to get around it," he said. "As an industry, we have to become more reliant on domestic production, and we have to reduce our reliance on import supply."

Recovery of the original equipment market has been hampered by a shortage of semiconductors for new cars.