Norway Facing Shortage of Winter Tires Due to Sanctions Against Russia

The tire industry is only one of the branches hit by the heavy sanctions imposed by the West against Russia over its Ukraine campaign, as well as the flight of Western companies for reasons presented as ethical. However, this has resulted in dramatic blowback, with rising costs, shortages and supply bottlenecks for consumers across Europe.

A shortage of winter tires is likely in the coming winter season due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the Norwegian tire industry has warned.

Almost a third of the tires bought in Norway are produced in Russia, and as part of a series of sanctions against the country, Norway has stopped producing its tires there.

“Russia has long been a major producer of winter tires for the countries in the north. The reason for that is that Russia is a huge market with huge demand and enormous resources. But they had an import duty that negatively affected Norwegian suppliers. So the suppliers found out that they could set up factories over there and thus make it cheaper to import to the Nordics,” Paul Oord, managing director of Starco Norge, one of the country’s largest tire suppliers, explained to the newspaper Nettavisen.

Oord stressed his company is no longer getting “a single tire” from Russia and that they are in the process of moving the factories out of the country. Admittedly, the tire suppliers are now trying to obtain tires from Asian countries, such as China, Korea and Japan, despite enormous capacity problems. Oord also added that the lack of a specific type of steel ordinarily imported from Ukraine hasn't made the situation any easier.

Geir Yngve Lyrstad, general manager of tire supplier DekkTeam Årnes, said his company had already received a sudden spike in orders on winter tires.

“There is no doubt that there will be a shortage of tires in the autumn,” he said. “Before, the customer could pick and choose between different tire types, but now it is first come, first served to secure winter tires at all. You can't sit on the fence anymore. Then you risk leaving the car in the garage over the winter.”

Norwegian Automobile Association (NAF) advised motorists to “bite the bullet” and buy new tires in due time to avoid gambling with traffic safety.

Earlier this year, six top tire makers, including Michelin, Nokian and Bridgestone, halted their production in Russia over the conflict in Ukraine. Among others, Finnish Nokian said it was no longer “feasible or sustainable” to continue operating in the country. Instead, it voiced plans to build a replacement factory in Europe, committing $117 million toward new production.

The tire industry is only one of the sectors hit by the sanctions imposed by the West against Russia over its campaign to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine and protect the inhabitants of the Donbass People's Republics, as well as the exodus of Western companies for reasons presented as ethical. However, sanctions have backfired spectacularly, resulting in rising costs, shortages and supply bottlenecks for consumers in Europe and other parts of the Western world.