Cooper Tire Production Affected by Hurricane Damage
FINDLAY, Ohio, Sept. 28 -- Cooper Tire & Rubber Company announced today that two of its tire manufacturing facilities will operate on reduced schedules due to raw material shortages. Beginning Sunday, October 2, 2005, Cooper's plants in Texarkana, Arkansas and Tupelo, Mississippi will begin reduced production schedules.
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As Hurricane Rita moved through the U.S. Gulf Coast areas, several of Cooper's suppliers for carbon black and synthetic rubber were severely damaged and have not yet resumed production. Also contributing to the shortage is access to roadways which is being limited by authorities and lack of rail cars as businesses compete for shipping alternatives.
Materials currently in stock will be utilized for high demand products and the current finished goods inventory levels should help maintain a steady flow of products to customers. Since Cooper estimates that it has sufficient inventories of tires to fill customer orders, the financial impact of this situation should be limited only to the impact of reduced production in the affected plants.
The Company estimates that about 30,000 tires per day will be taken out of production until the raw material supply is normalized. While it is impossible to predict how long that will be, Cooper's suppliers are working diligently to return their plants to full production and Cooper buyers are scouring the market for alternative sources for materials from suppliers not affected by the recent storms.
Company Description
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is a global company that specializes in the design, manufacture and sales of passenger car, light truck, medium truck tires and subsidiaries that specialize in motorcycle and racing tires, as well as tread rubber and related equipment for the retread industry. With headquarters in Findlay, Ohio, Cooper Tire has 39 manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design facilities within its family of companies located around the world. For more information, visit Cooper Tire's web site at: www.coopertireandrubber.com
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