What Brazil's Political Crisis Could Mean for the Brazilian Mining Industry

Demonstration in Brasília outside of the National Congress Building.

If you've been paying any attention at all to global news reports, then you're aware that for some time, there's been trouble brewing in Brazil. To summarize an excellent article appearing in CNN Money, the unrest is due largely to dissatisfaction with rampant political corruption, a tanking economy, and wildly soaring stock market values.

Throughout the month of March, while rumors of President Dilma Rousseff's impeachment flew, demonstrators took to the streets in many cities across the country, with huge movements in São Paulo even leading to clashes between police and anti-government protesters.

What does all of this mean for the Brazilian mining industry?

In the short term, nothing good. Anything that disrupts the smooth operation of a country negatively affects the country's industries, and the mining industry is no exception to this. If the protests continue, Brazil may struggle to retain even its current (questionable) level of economic stability. No one would desire to see this situation develop.

On the other hand, these protests could benefit Brazilian mining in the long run. If the protests lead to a national movement to abolish corruption improve the national economic policies and general governance, then Brazil's tanking economy has a chance of turning around, benefiting all industries - including mining. However, just like an ultra-class haul truck, national economies the size of Brazil's don't turn on a dime. Any turnaround in the economic fortunes of Brazil will probably take a couple of years at the very least.

As you know, we've been following this story as it has developed throughout March, and we plan to follow it to its conclusion. If you have questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to sound off the comments.

As always, remember that we carry a full line of OTR tires for all of your mining needs. Feel free to contact us for information on our product lines or to consult on our current deals.

Image credit: By Agência Brasil CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Possible Blueprint for Turning the Australian Mining Industry Around?

It's no secret that the Australian mining industry has been in free fall for quite some time. Mines and plants are closing, jobs have been cut, and small towns that rely on the mining industry for their ongoing economies are drying up.

Although we have discussed in previous posts that the situation could soon turn around, the evidence so far has not supported such optimistic hopes. Even as recently as early March, news that more than 2,000 mining jobs are set to be cut during 2016 made its way into the Sydney Herald. Clearly the downward spiral continues.

Recently, individuals within the industry have begun asking some tough questions. One of those questions asks this: Why isn't more attention being paid to ongoing innovation and the sort of technological development that set the Australian mining industry apart through the early Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries?

Almost no profiling has been provided when discussing the benefits of innovation and technology within the resources sector that has demonstrably provided over a sustained period some of the most effective innovation and new technology developed in Australia and historically the industry has also been early adopters of new technology (Australian Mining).

If the Australian mining industry has indeed been known for developing new ideas as well as being early adopters of new global technologies, might not this be a good time to play to those strengths? Companies could channel these newly unemployed (but knowledgeable and experienced) miners into areas of research and development, therefore increasing the odds that the Australian mining industry will not completely stagnate while simultaneously combating unemployment.

Do you have questions or comments about this idea? Feel free to sound off in the comments. As always, Remember that we carry a full line of OTR tires for all of your mining needs. Feel free to contact us for the best deals.

Image credit: Blue Diamond Gallery

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Titan OTR Tire Specials

We've got some hump day tire deals for you. This week we've got special pricing on select Titan OTR tires. Check out the full line up below.

• 2pc - 21LX24 TITAN R4 - $725.00 ea
• 4pc - 15.5X25 TITAN G2 12 ply - $450.00 ea
• 13pc - 17.5R25 TITAN MXL - $725.00 ea
• 4pc - 20.5X25 TITAN G2 16 ply - $675.00 ea
• 12pc - 20.5R25 TITAN MXL - $1,025.00 ea
• 13pc - 1400R24 TITAN TGS2 SNOW - No Serial numbers - $735.00 ea
• 6pc - 17.5R25 TITAN TGS2 SNOW - No Serial numbers - $880.00 ea

All tires listed are new. All prices are US Dollars and are plus freight. If you have any questions, please contact us. We can also provide you with a freight quote.

If you would like to receive our OTR tire specials in your inbox, then click here to subscribe!

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Is There Hope for Restructuring the U.S. Coal Industry?

If you have been following U.S. mining industry news at all, then you're no doubt already aware that all is not well in the coal sector, nor has it been for some time. Ranking near the top of the list of concerns is the suspicion that the country might not actually have much more economically viable coal to mine.

[An] exhaustive government analysis says that at current prices and mining rates the country's largest coal reserves, located along the Montana-Wyoming border, will be tapped out in just a few decades (Salt Lake Tribune).

Since this area of the West is known to have the largest deposits of coal in the nation, the conventional wisdom that America is the "Saudi Arabia of coal" has naturally been called into question. Some have even gone so far as to say that the entire industry is "falling apart."

Not everyone greets the news of shrinking coal reserves with such dramatics, however. Sidestepping the general hand-wringing and pronouncements of doom, many experts believe that while the U.S. mining industry must certainly face some restructuring, such restructuring will keep the industry viable well into the future.

As supporters of the U.S. mining industry and purveyors of OTR tires, we look forward with avid interest to seeing how the coal industry digs its way out of this slump. We have little doubt that they will do so in good time, and we look forward to reporting their progress to you in the days to come.

In the meantime, bear in mind that we carry a full supply of OTR tires for all of your mining needs. To hear more about our current deals, please feel free to contact us.

Image credit: Powder River Basin Map by USGS via Wikimedia

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The Goodyear Eagle-360, 3D Printing, and the Future of the Industry

In October of 2015, we theorized that 3D printing could very well be the future of the tire industry. It seems that Goodyear has decided to ride the wave into the future with their Goodyear Eagle-360 3D printed concept tire.

One of two new concept tires the company announced recently, the Eagle-360 uses 3D printing technology to make customized treads available to their consumers. Since this is one of the practical uses of 3D printing that we anticipated in our post, we're pleased to see the industry proving us right and availing itself of the possibilities.

Video: The Goodyear Eagle-360 Concept Tire

It's obvious that in designing the Eagle-360 and other models, Goodyear is looking to the future, anticipating that this is the direction toward which everything seems to be heading:

[The] spherical-shaped Eagle-360...was designed with key features of maneuverability, connectivity and biomimicry for autonomous mobility, while the IntelliGrip, featuring advanced sensor and treadwear technology, is a solution for the earlier adoption of self-driving vehicles (Goodyear).

If phrases such as "autonomous mobility" and "self-driving vehicles" make you feel as if we're about to enter the realm of science fiction, know that we're right there with you. We're not scared of the changes, however: we're excited by them, thrilled to live through a time of such rapid technological development.

What does all of this mean for the world of OTR tires? Although it's still a bit too soon to make definitive statements, we don't think that anyone will be terribly surprised to hear reports of OTR manufacturers taking a page out of Goodyear's playbook and offering customized treads to appeal to their various demographics of miners, farmers, and other heavy-equipment users. But only time will tell.

Questions? Thoughts? Opinions? Feel free to sound off in the comment section.

Remember that we carry a full line of OTR tires for all of your big-rig needs. Feel free to contact us for information on our current inventory and to ask about the best deals.

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OTR Tire Manufacturers Optimistic about the Future

Makers of OTR tires faced a downturn in 2015, a downturn due in part to events taking place in the overall global mining industry. After all, nearly all OTR tires are used in mining equipment, meaning whatever happens to the mining community directly affects the makers and purveyors of OTR tires.

Since 2016 is still a fairly fresh year, it's not possible yet to predict exactly how the markets will react. There seems to be evidence, however, that the downturn won't follow us all the way through to 2017. High-ranking executives from top tire companies have weighed in, and the consensus seems to be positive overall.

The mining segment is cyclical. We are optimistic about the future of this market and expect demand for off-road tires to increase steadily as the need for mineral resources grows with a measured economic expansion across the globe,” says Bridgestone’s Cole (Tire Review).

We know that the markets are driven by supply and demand, and when demand drops there must be a corresponding drop in supply to bring the market and prices back into balance. At some point, the industry self-corrects and brings supply back into balance with current demand. Of course, sometimes the mining industry and their suppliers overshoot and cut production too much, or demand picks up much faster than industry forecasts predicts and the market flips to the opposite imbalance and excess demand drives up prices and calls forth more supply.

Here at BuyBigTires.com, we've seen these cycles in the past. We see no reason to assume that they won't be part of our future, and we look forward to seeing the turn around with our own eyes. And as we've seen in the past, the turn around could just be on your doorstep much soon than you were expecting!

Remember that we carry a full line of OTR tires for all of your mining needs. Feel free to contact us with questions you might have or to hear about our current deals.

Image credit: By SilverStar at English Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5

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The Brazilian Mining Industry and the Economic Downgrade

Demonstration in Brasília outside of the National Congress Building.

It's no secret that Brazil is currently in the middle of one of the worst economic downturns it has faced in recent memory. The economy shrank sharply in 2015, and it doesn't seem that the trend is likely to reverse any time soon.

A paralyzing political crisis, rising inflation and interest rates and a sharp drop in prices of key commodity exports have formed a toxic cocktail for Latin America's largest economy (VOA News).

Although it wasn't listed explicitly in the source article, the long-term medical impact of the Zika Virus also factors into Brazil's overall instability.

Normally, this would be the point at which people would begin to ask what the downturn means for the Brazilian mining industry, which has historically been one of the leading contributors to the country's strong GDP. Instead, the question is being framed in terms of what the industry may have done to contribute directly to the downturn.

Considering that during 2015 the mining sector saw the failure of a major dam and the worst oil strike in twenty years, the Brazilian mining sector cannot open claim to be completely above the country's current set of woes. These two events, apart from harming the overall mining community, had an almost incalculable impact on the country as a whole--both the economy and the people. While mining leaders cannot be held accountable for all factors leading to the country's economic downturn, they are being held responsible for their share and doing what they can to make amends.

For our part, we look forward to a future in which Brazil as a whole, the mining sector included, is able to sort out its issues and come back better than ever.

Remember that we carry a full complement of big tires for all of your mining needs. If you have questions or comments, or if you would like to hear about our current deals, please feel free to contact us.

Image credit: By Agência Brasil CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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