Two Cooper tyre plants slowed by after-effects of Rita

Findlay, Ohio -- Cooper Tire & Rubber Company announced today that two of its tyre manufacturing facilities will operate on reduced schedules due to raw material shortages. Beginning Sunday, 2 Oct., 2005, Cooper's plants in Texarkana, Arkansas and Tupelo, Mississippi will begin reduced production schedules.

In a statement, Cooper said, "As Hurricane Rita moved through the US Gulf Coast areas, several of Cooper's suppliers for carbon black and synthetic rubber were severely damaged and have not yet resumed production. Also contributing to the shortage is access to roadways which is being limited by authorities and lack of rail cars as businesses compete for shipping alternatives."

The company continued, "Materials currently in stock will be used for high demand products and the current finished goods inventory levels should help maintain a steady flow of products to customers. Since Cooper estimates that it has sufficient inventories of tyres to fill customer orders, the financial impact of this situation should be limited only to the impact of reduced production in the affected plants."

The Company estimates that about 30 000 tyres per day will be taken out of production until the raw material supply is normalised. While it is impossible to predict how long that will be, Cooper's suppliers are working diligently to return their plants to full production and Cooper buyers are scouring the market for alternative sources for materials from suppliers not affected by the recent storms.