Agricultural tyre shortage: Three-month wait for delivery, prices rise

Farmers face paying more for tractor and machinery tyres, and waiting months for delivery, as a global shortage hits home.

The farm sector is facing a double whammy of agricultural tyre shortages plus higher prices caused by huge demand, lack of raw materials and escalating oil prices.

Tyre importers and retailers say customers face a wait of up to three months for delivery for some tyres and prices are up 30 per cent.

Supply problems, shipping delays, materials shortages exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war and unfavourable exchange rates are behind the trend. The spike in oil prices, a major ingredient in tyre production, was another factor.

South Australian grain grower Brett Zibell crops about 6000ha at Kimba on the Eyre Peninsula. He couldn't find a replacement tyre for his John Deere 9630 articulated tractor during May sowing due to nationwide tyre shortages. Picture: Supplied

Eyre Peninsula farmer Brett Zibell was caught out during sowing earlier this month when he couldn’t find a replacement tyre for his recently purchased John Deere 9630 tractor.

His local dealer at Kimba searched nationwide for a spare to replace one of the heavily worn 620/70R46 tyres that came on the second-hand tractor. He struggled to find one, and when he did it couldn’t be delivered to Kimba during Brett’s April-May seeding window.

Brett said he had to patch the tyre three times to make it through sowing.

“It is not an uncommon tyre, it is just supply of tyres is horrible at the minute,” he said.

Australian Tyre Traders national marketing and communications manager Daniel Sapsead said shortages were a global problem and tyre manufacturers and wholesalers had been finding it challenging to keep up with demand that had “gone through the roof.”

“The message we’ve been putting out to customers is to look at your potential replacement needs now and plan your purchases ahead of time. Order with the expectation there may be some time delay and don’t just assume you can get new stock immediately,” he said.

Titan Australia national agricultural product manager Daryl Hynoski said a big chunk of global tyre supply had been snapped up by US equipment manufacturers over the past two years, making certain brands and sizes even harder to secure.

He said shortages were more acute for less common equipment brands and obscure sizes.

Brian Ogeimi, business development manager from retailer Ag Tyres and Wheels in Bendigo said prices were also going up.

“Depending on brand, over the last 12 months prices have risen anywhere between 10 to 25 per cent,” he said. “Demand is up everywhere here and overseas, shipping costs have gone through the roof from $3000 a container to $13-14,000 a container and then a lot of the rubber that used to come out of Ukraine has dried up of course and so that’s causing shortages.”