Tyre maker and distributor Bridgestone New Zealand has announced its second round of price increases this year.
Bridgestone said it would increase truck and passenger car tyres from its Bridgestone and Firestone ranges by between 5 to 19% from July 1.
Passenger tyre prices would rise as much as 9%, while associate brand passenger tyres would increase up to 16%.
Light truck, truck, bus, tubes and retread prices would all be increased by up to 5%, Bridgestone said.
Bridgestone's NZ Business Director Ken Oyama said this was the second increase this year because of high raw material prices.
"We are taking pricing actions in stages, and future steps will become necessary should the current trend continue," Oyama said.
Natural rubber prices had increased at unprecedented rates, while petrochemical-based materials such as synthetic rubber and carbon black remained at high levels, he said.
"Bridgestone makes every effort to absorb cost fluctuations through efficiencies; however, the widespread rise in the cost of raw materials makes these price adjustments necessary."
The Reserve Bank has commented it expected underlying inflation to remain under control for the foreseeable future and is not expected to increase the Official Cash Rate from a record low 2.5% until next year.
Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve has kept its main interest rate at nearly 0% for almost three years and has been printing money since early 2009, driving up commodity prices and exporting inflation to emerging economies.
The US Federal Reserve also believes core inflation is under control and that any increase from commodity and food prices is 'transitory'.
7 Comments
Problem is if ppl dont have any more money, ie wage increases to match "inflation" they cannot spend any more...so what happens and I keep repeating it on the off chance it will get through your thick skull we get deflation in other areas....
Sure Labour will increase, builders were at a premium before the earthquake....but f*ck it lawyers etc think they are worth $100s an hour so I dont begrudge good workmen getting $40+ an hour while they can.....I know which I regard as more useful to society......and which would make poor fertilizer....
Some building materials will probably rise in cost....by this I mean structural wood, concrete etc as I think those prices were a bit depressed anyway....however when you look at finishing products which are made overseas you can see massive under-utilised capacity in the factories, so even with NZ importing more to repair its negligable volume....so those prices, no Im not sure they will inflate.
Also tools....
Examples, Im looking for a bench saw, router table, drill press, thickeniser and a few other bits (major DIY work)....a decent bench saw was >$1k....now recently Ive seen "specials" at $799 for the (green) makita down from $900+ and $749 for the hitachi down from $900+......even the blue makita MLT100 is now under $1k from somewhat over....incl stand btw....eg
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=377388705
so Im waiting in the sidelines for some good %s off and start with the bench saw or thickeniser depending on the best discount at the time.
and then say the router bits.....if trademe guys can sell good bits at $3.20 up to $20 when the shops are double or even x5 that that I know there are big margins to be chopped....simple I buy from trademe when it makes sense.......and yes it doesnt always.
regards
Didn't Bridgestone get tyred of the high labour costs , and retyred its workers in the Adelaide and Christchurch Firestone tire plants ? ........ So they got cheaper labour in Vietnam , and yet tires still go up 16 % in price !
....... Tyred of all the BS .......there's more spin in their press statements , than in the nations wheels .
[ hang in there , Mr Hyckey , your spellig will improve with practiss ]
Yep....my latest set is from vietnam or cambodia or somewhere....still $60 each and been $60 each for 8 years.....actually I think they are better this time around in the wet than the last lot which were made in upper hutt.....
and yes lots of BS....oil has jumped from $85 to $100 so 16% increase makes some sense, of course there is RRP and the real cash price.....
regards
Exactly. Who pays RRP any more. No one can afford to. Most people price and do the research at the retail shop and buy the item on trademe if it is not on special at the shop.
I recently replaced my inflatable dinghy. I had been watching it come down from $2000 at the shop. Picked it up on a managers special for $1299. Cheapest I have seen them in years.
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