Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved sports. Growing up outside Chicago, the weather dictated the game, so summer was my favorite season because everything was in season, except school. Around the age of 12, I was allowed to accompany my dad and my grandfather to the annual church golf tournament. I loved driving the golf cart, but they also let me hit a couple of shots off the tee. I connected on one of them and to this day, I still love the game.

The professional golf season championship was revamped over a decade ago into an event that rewards the best players of the year. More important, the top 30 players are guaranteed a spot in that tournament—and a hefty payout. The top tier of golfers are an elite group of athletes with incredible mental and physical skills that allow them to consistently perform at the highest level. Up until a few years ago, there were a lot of familiar names in that top 30 year after year. 

College golf is the training ground for a lot of the top tour professionals. It has become an international game because amateurs overseas have seen the opportunities for competition that exist here in the states. These students are able to adjust to life in America while attending major universities on golf scholarships. Many of the best young players in the world are learning to compete at the highest level in Division 1 golf. 

In that sense, golf is a lot like truck tires. For decades, the tier 1 and tier 2 brands dominated the market. Offshore tires had difficulty competing at the highest level, so they relegated themselves to the niche markets where the lowest price was the key. I used to call these the “blow them out before they run them out” customers because they were more likely to hit a curb or a piece of rebar than they were to wear out the tread. For years, overseas manufacturers lacked the technology, expertise, and experience that the top brands leveraged to maintain a sizable gap between the top and the bottom. 

It’s incredibly difficult to make a tier 1 truck tire better. There’s only so much you can do with compounding, tread design, and casing construction to improve what already exists. Reliability, cost per mile, and performance consistently deliver the highest value for the operator. Throw retreadability in the mix and it’s the cost versus price analysis that keeps tier 1 truck tires at the top. The drop-off to tier 2 is minimal, so like the old days of professional golf, the same names are there week after week, month after month, year after year. 

The global recession caused by the pandemic has forced a lot of businesses to rethink their purchasing strategies, and trucking is not immune. Every dollar counts, so the price gap between the top and the bottom for a truck tire is more magnified than ever. Most fleets will still focus on cost per mile and other factors like supply, which will probably preserve most of the market share for the tier 1 and tier 2 brands. But there are a growing number of trucking companies, large and small, that are being forced to take a closer look at all operating costs, including tires. 

A recent interview with a “value tier” truck tire manufacturer referred to the current business climate as the “era of trial” because they are seeing an increase in the number of fleets that are willing to give offshore brands a shot. Times are tough, so saving a few dollars by taking a chance on an unknown and/or unproven truck tire has a level of appeal. Of course, the tire will have to deliver, but getting a foot in the door and tires on the road are the first steps. 

Global truck tire manufacturing has improved. Tier 1 and tier 2 talent priced out or retired from corporate America become free agents, so the value brands keep scooping up the top engineers and sales executives to elevate their products and processes. Competition is stiffening. The gap is closing, and the economic pressures of dealing with a pandemic and a recession have forced a lot of trucking companies to rethink everything. 

Offshore truck tire brands are much like those international amateur golfers who want to compete at the highest level, so they get into the game by attending American universities. This year, a 22-year-old tour rookie from Norway won his first professional tournament, made the final 30, and won over $2 million in prize money. Norway is not known for golf, but this young man played on a Division 1 national championship team as a sophomore and two years later, he’s one of the top 30 professional golfers in the world. His former college team in Oklahoma currently has players from Germany, Spain, China, Denmark, Japan, and Thailand.  

Golf is becoming more of an international game and like some of those value tier truck tires, all that’s needed is a chance to prove yourself.