What is a 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake tire? A 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake tire is certified for severe snow performance and is commonly found on commercial drive tires and all-terrain truck applications. At the show, Kumho Tire highlighted its KXD12 super regional drive tire with 3PMSF certification, emphasizing its role in heavy-duty truck segments. It also showed the new Kumho Road Venture RT. Yokohama also showcased its Geolandar A/T4, a 3PMSF-rated all-terrain tire designed for light truck and SUV fitments. These examples from the floor illustrate how the 3PMSF designation now spans both commercial trucking and consumer truck categories. 3PMSF in super regional drive tires. Super regional drive tires serve trucks operating in regional haul applications. When paired with a 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake rating, they provide additional winter traction capability while maintaining durability for commercial fleets. Kumho's super regional drive tire with 3PMSF certification reflects growing demand for winter-capable commercial products. For independent tire dealers, understanding how a 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake drive tire differs from a standard drive tire is helpful when serving regional fleet customers operating in variable winter conditions. All-Terrain and ultra-high-performance segments. Beyond 3PMSF-rated products, manufacturers discussed other key categories. Nexen Tire highlighted its N'Priz S and N'Fera Sport ultra-high-performance tires. Hankook introduced Laufenn's new X Fit AT2 all-terrain tire, debuting at the event. Falken brought its highest-volume tire lines and discussed the launch of the Dunlop Sport BluResponse, alongside efforts to reinvigorate the Dunlop brand. Why 3PMSF tires matter for dealers. A 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake tire designation influences product positioning in both commercial and light truck categories. At the K&M show, manufacturers underscored dealer relationships, responsiveness, and product alignment as key drivers of success within distributor networks. For independent tire dealers, this episode provides insight into: * How 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake certification applies to drive and all-terrain tires * Where super regional drive tires fit within fleet operations * How UHP and all-terrain products complement winter-capable portfolios * Which manufacturers are expanding 3PMSF-rated offerings Recorded on the trade show floor in Kansas City, this episode captures manufacturer perspectives on the evolving role of the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake tire across multiple segments.

Factory fallout: manufacturing layoffs from Honda, curia Global, yokohama Tire Manufacturing and more. In its latest digest of manufacturers cutting jobs and closing plants: layoffs/closures in donuts, metal machinery manufacturing, fuel cell manufacturing and more Two weeks ago, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that job openings fell by 11,000 to 403,000 jobs in November of last year, indicating that manufacturing - though still slight on needed workers - is cutting back on new hires. The same report found the hire rate in manufacturing is nearing a ten-year low as industrial companies keep their belts tightened against unexpected economic conditions. Read on to find five companies taking further steps to reduce headcount to cope with the cutthroat world of business manufacturing. Yokohama Tire Manufacturing will cut almost 400 workers at its Salem, Virginia tire factory this year, according to local news site WDBJ7. The company said it is sunsetting certain products and facing reduced demand for others, and that hourly employees will receive benefits according to their union agreement with the United Steel Workers local 1023. A company statement added that the Salem plant is "not well-equipped" for updates that would enable it to be updated for future products. Company notices say that employees can expect production to end in July of this year, followed by an official plant closure September 17, coinciding with the end of Yokahama's collective bargaining agreement with USW. Curia Global will lay off 81 people this year as it prepares to close one of its two manufacturing locations in Massachusetts, according to local news site Masslive. According to a WARN notice filed with the state on January 14, the pharmaceutical research company plans to close its Burlington factory between March 10 and June 1, 2026. Honda Motor Co. announced January 20 that it would close down its Fuel Cell System Manufacturing site in Brownstown, Michigan, as it closes the joint venture it owned the company together with General Motors. In a statement, Honda said it had agreed with GM to discontinue fuel cell production there and develop its own fuel cell technology independently. According to a Honda release from January 2024, the 70,000-square foot joint venture site had created about 80 jobs. In its 2025 statement, Honda did not mention if FCSM workers would receive an opportunity to continue work on Honda's own fuel cell technology. Eptam West Precision Metals filed a WARN report with the state of Colorado that it would close down its metal machinery manufacturing, laser cutting and welding site on the east side of Colorado springs, local news site KOAA 5 reported January 21. The report indicates that 134 workers at the site will be laid off starting March. Mid Maine CPL, a bakery in Lewiston, Maine that delivered to area Dunkin' franchises, abruptly closed in early January, according to local new source WMTW 8 ABC. Company leadership reportedly sent employees a letter indicating the factory, which started production in 2001, had become too expensive to maintain. Employees were also told they would receive pay for unused leave, a bonus equal to about one week's average pay, offers to transfer to other factories and a neutral reference. The Maine Deparment of Labor, WMTW says, has connected with the company to offer its own services to the workers. Ryan Secard joined Endeavor B2B in 2020 as a news editor for IndustryWeek. He currently contributes to IW, American Machinist, Foundry Management & Technology, and Plant Services on breaking manufacturing news, new products, plant openings and closures, and labor issues in manufacturing. Show more

Are Yokohama tires better than Michelin? What Consumer Reports data says. Death and taxes are the only two certainties in life, or so the old chestnut goes. To that, Incited can add one more - at least, if you own a vehicle: The need for new tires. If you're not the type of person who sticks to one brand, then choosing a new set of rubber can be difficult given how many major tire brands are out there, jostling for your attention and hard-earned money. Two names that will likely pop up during your search will be Michelin and Yokohama. Both companies are significant players in the global tire market, although Michelin has the definitive upper hand here with a 15.1% share of the market as of 2022 and annual revenue of around $28 billion (per Consumer Affairs). But does that necessarily extend to how the two companies' tires compare in terms of quality? Might there, instead, be a chance that Yokohama's offerings outperform Michelin's? Unfortunately for fans of the Japanese manufacturer, Consumer Reports' year-end list of the best tire brands offers a definitive answer: no. Michelin tops CR's list of tire brands, while Yokohama sits at 16th, behind other Asian brands such as Sumitomo, Nexen, and Toyo. Michelin dominates CR's tire recommendations. Digging a bit deeper into Consumer Reports' tire reviews over 2025, it becomes clear why Michelin tops the list and why Yokohama lags that far behind. Michelin's offerings, including the CrossClimate 2, Defender 2, and Pilot Sport All Season 4, are some of CR's favorite tires, making their way onto the outlet's list of best-performing tires of the year. A handful of the brand's other tires, such as the X-Ice Snow, LTX A/T 2, and Primacy Tour A/S, also earned CR Recommended awards, giving the brand a huge presence at the top of CR's rankings in all categories. Yokohama, conversely, only received one CR Recommended award, which CR gave to the Avid Ascend GT all-season tire. The Avid Ascend GT is a decent all-round option based on CR's testing, although it also doesn't offer anything that Michelin's all-season products don't. It is noticeably cheaper than Michelin's Primacy Tour A/S, though, which may make it a more appealing choice for some. Beyond that, the other Yokohama tires in CR's database as of late 2025 are mediocre at best. CR's perspective is not necessarily that of all consumers, though. J.D. Power's 2025 U.S. Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study saw Yokohama take an admirable second place in the passenger car tire category. The Japanese corporation scored 807 points out of 1,000, behind Goodyear's 815 and just ahead of Michelin's 805. Yokohama didn't have any presence in J.D. Power's other categories (including truck and performance tires), though, whereas Michelin was at or near the top in all of them.