Is Cooper CS3 made in the USA?

[faramir9]

Not that I need new tires---I am happy with the H727s, which have good tread left---but I continue to feel the urge to get USA-made tires sooner rather than later. On principle. Same principle as "don't shop at Wal-Mart, the center of all evil." Yet I drive on tires made in Korea, sometimes with a crankcase full of oil bought from Walmart. (not now, actually) Oh, silly money.

Segue to: It would take an unreal deal for me to do this, but I like the idea of buying USA-made tires for a 4th of July sale. I plan to check out the DTD holiday offers next week. One tire that might make the cut if enough rebates are attached is the CS3---but I am not sure where it is produced.

Does anyone know for sure? Thanks.

 

[faramir9]

OK, Google is our friend: "All CS3 tires are being manufactured in Cooper's plant in Tupelo, Miss."

Per: http://www.tirebusiness.com/article/20130625/NEWS/130629949/cooper-shipping-new-cs3-tire

I might really do this, if a stacked triple rebate is possible. Don't bother telling me it's a crazy idea, financially. Trust me, I know.

 

[geeman789]

I applaud your " made locally..." mentality. If everyone actually took the time to find out where something is made, then voted with their $$$, we would be better off, IMO.

Interestingly enough, I was looking at tires TODAY, a Michelin Pilot AS3, and a COOPER Zeon AS3. The Michelin was made in CANADA, and I thought, great!

I then looked at The Cooper. In really SMALL print near the dot codes, sure enough MADE IN CHINA... WHAT? I thought Cooper was the last of the independant USA companies...

A little research shows Cooper with tentacles EVERYWHERE... USA, CHINA, BULGARIA, KOREA.

The other issue is that different sizes of the same model of tire are often built in different plants, often in different countries.

BUYER BEWARE...!

 

[faramir9]

Originally Posted By: geeman789
I applaud your " made locally..." mentality. If everyone actually took the time to find out where something is made, then voted with their $$$, we would be better off, IMO.

Interestingly enough, I was looking at tires TODAY, a Michelin Pilot AS3, and a COOPER Zeon AS3. The Michelin was made in CANADA, and I thought, great!

I then looked at The Cooper. In really SMALL print near the dot codes, sure enough MADE IN CHINA... WHAT? I thought Cooper was the last of the independant USA companies...

A little research shows Cooper with tentacles EVERYWHERE... USA, CHINA, BULGARIA, KOREA.

The other issue is that different sizes of the same model of tire are often built in different plants, often in different countries.

BUYER BEWARE...!


Right. That's why I asked about the CS3. Cooper has factories in China and I think many other places. The days of American-owned, American-made are gone. I think at least some production of the Cooper Lifeliner was/is in China; since the CS3 pretty much replaces the Lifeliner, I worried about that.

 

[tomcat27]

Country of manufacture sometimes varies within a tire model depending on size. Try looking up a tire at tire rack and clicking on the tech specs tab. Country of mfr is listed.

 

[tomcat27]

But.... Why be wasteful? You already bought the 727's. Why not wait until they are worn out

 

[CapriRacer]

The tire business is a global one. Tires are made and sold all over the globe, so in some respects it would only make sense to produce them where you sell them - except for the issue of manufacturing costs.

Clearly, import duties on raw materials can inhibit a manufacturer form building a plant in a certain country. But as a general rule, the raw materials for tires are the same regardless of where tires are made.

Then there is the cost of labor. That can vary considerably.

What I have noted is that shipping costs are just incredibly low - and the balance between labor costs and shipping costs is what is driving manufacturers to third world countries. This has both good and bad consequences.

It makes the producing country's economy improve - elevating the average guy's standard of living. The also results in a desire by the local populace to stay in their own country and not seek their fortune elsewhere (a position I advocate as the real answer to the US's immigration problem with Mexico and other Latin America countries.)

OTOH, making things one place and selling them somewhere else, hurts the consumer's economy. In many cases, the consumer country can tolerate such an arrangement, but it seems inherently unfair. Plus it puts very large companies at a distinct advantage.

This is a complex issue and I don't see an answer that everyone will agree with - so i expect the situation to continue.

 

[sopususer]

Originally Posted By: faramir9


Right. That's why I asked about the CS3. Cooper has factories in China and I think many other places. The days of American-owned, American-made are gone. I think at least some production of the Cooper Lifeliner was/is in China; since the CS3 pretty much replaces the Lifeliner, I worried about that.


Yeah I got surprised when I bought a set of Lifeliners on closeout online. They showed up with made in China written all over them. The are smooth and I've had no problems with the tires, but I would have liked to have sent my $$$ somewhere else. I know Cooper advertised years ago about being American made, and as you've correctly pointed out, times have unfortunately changed.

 

[bluestream]

Originally Posted By: sopususer
Originally Posted By: faramir9


Right. That's why I asked about the CS3. Cooper has factories in China and I think many other places. The days of American-owned, American-made are gone. I think at least some production of the Cooper Lifeliner was/is in China; since the CS3 pretty much replaces the Lifeliner, I worried about that.


Yeah I got surprised when I bought a set of Lifeliners on closeout online. They showed up with made in China written all over them. The are smooth and I've had no problems with the tires, but I would have liked to have sent my $$$ somewhere else. I know Cooper advertised years ago about being American made, and as you've correctly pointed out, times have unfortunately changed.


If it makes you feel better, the amount of money sent to China would be very small. Most went to the retailer and Cooper

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: tomcat27
Country of manufacture sometimes varies within a tire model depending on size. Try looking up a tire at tire rack and clicking on the tech specs tab. Country of mfr is listed.


For some odd reason, Tire Rack doesn't sell Cooper.

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: faramir9
I might really do this, if a stacked triple rebate is possible. Don't bother telling me it's a crazy idea, financially. Trust me, I know.


I triple stacked my last set of Coopers.

The farm supply store where I bought them was having a "Buy 3, get 1 free" sale... Cooper was offering an $80 rebate... plus the store was also offering a 5% rebate on purchases over $299, with free financing on their store credit card.

Nice...

 

[Ken2]

Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
The tire business is a global one. Tires are made and sold all over the globe, so in some respects it would only make sense to produce them where you sell them - except for the issue of manufacturing costs.

Clearly, import duties on raw materials can inhibit a manufacturer form building a plant in a certain country. But as a general rule, the raw materials for tires are the same regardless of where tires are made.

Then there is the cost of labor. That can vary considerably.

What I have noted is that shipping costs are just incredibly low - and the balance between labor costs and shipping costs is what is driving manufacturers to third world countries. This has both good and bad consequences.

It makes the producing country's economy improve - elevating the average guy's standard of living. The also results in a desire by the local populace to stay in their own country and not seek their fortune elsewhere (a position I advocate as the real answer to the US's immigration problem with Mexico and other Latin America countries.)

OTOH, making things one place and selling them somewhere else, hurts the consumer's economy. In many cases, the consumer country can tolerate such an arrangement, but it seems inherently unfair. Plus it puts very large companies at a distinct advantage.

This is a complex issue and I don't see an answer that everyone will agree with - so i expect the situation to continue.

Include the cost differential with the factories, both pollution and worker safety. The Chinese are finally starting to get moving on their pollution that is sickening the populace and well as poisoning farmlands and water supplies. Worker safety--I've been in a Hong Kong shipyard. They never had an unsafe worker. They have had many with bad luck....

Mexican corn farmers were driven off their land by the low corn prices when NAFTA permitted U.S. corn to be sold there without import duty. The U.S. farmers are the world's most efficient, but that drove these workers into poverty, so they had to come north for a job. There are many more reasons (we're seeing the results of massive violent crime in Central America now with the children shipped north for safety). Corruption kills jobs, so the workers have to emigrate. Lack of capital kills jobs. Lack of worker education kills jobs. Lack of nutrition and health kills workers. These are some of the problems that need to be addressed to fix the immigration problem at the source.

Goodyear and Cooper are the only two remaining U.S. owned tire companies. But why not buy a U.S. made Michelin/BFGoodrich/Uniroyal or a U.S. made Continental/General, or a U.S. made Bridgestone/Firestone? Most of the money stays here. (And, I'll buy a Canadian made tire as readily as a U.S. made one. We are each others main trading partner.)

Tirerack used to sell Cooper's Avon, a private label for Tirerack. (Cooper has owned Avon since 1997.) We don't know why Tirerack doesn't deal with Cooper...price?...supply issues?

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: Ken2
Goodyear and Cooper are the only two remaining U.S. owned tire companies. But why not buy a U.S. made Michelin/BFGoodrich/Uniroyal or a U.S. made Continental/General, or a U.S. made Bridgestone/Firestone? Most of the money stays here. (And, I'll buy a Canadian made tire as readily as a U.S. made one. We are each others main trading partner.)


Why not Cooper tires made in the US? They have multiple plants here in the states.

Let's see, last several sets of tires I've bought:

Cooper/Ohio (2 sets)
Michelin/South Carolina (1 set)
Bridgestone/Japan (several)
Goodyear/New York (2 sets)
Goodyear/US (2 sets)
Dunlop/US (several)