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Made in the USA Tires
It isn’t as easy as giving you a list of brands of tires made in the USA like I could do for motor oil. When it comes to tires, brand names alone won’t tell you if a tire is made in the United States or abroad. American companies have their tires made on both foreign and domestic soil. Likewise, foreign companies operate plants in the USA with American men and women building those foreign brand tires.
Sadly, up to 95% of tires that the average American can afford are not made in America.
All is not lost to globalization though. There is a way to tell if a tire is an American made tire and we’re going to tell you how to do that.
Once you have knowledge of which brands of tires are made in America, you just need to know how to find the plant code that tells you which plant a tire was made in, and lastly, which of those codes are American made tire plants. So let’s get started.
How to Find the Plant Code and Identify Tires Made in the USA
First, you look directly on the sidewall for a string of letters and numbers that begins with DOT. DOT stands for Department of transportation. Directly following DOT, you want to look at the first 2 letters/numbers. On my tire, the plant code is 5M. I know that my tires were made in Korea.
Two things before we get back into it.
- You must be wondering how we run a website that is all about promoting made in the USA products but we are driving a car with Korean-made tires. I’ll tell you. We bought the new to us car about a month ago. These are the tires that were on it. When we replace them, we’ll definitely do our best to put made in the USA tires on her.
- Are those cracks bad? Is it normal? I’ve honestly never really looked at my tires much before. I sent a picture and asked Don but he can’t tell on his phone. He promises to look at our tires when he gets home from work. Maybe we’ll have made in the USA tires pretty soon. I admit I hope not though. Not really in the budget today. Haha. Update: Tires are fine.
Alright, where were we? Ah yes, the plant code.
So now that we know where to look for the plant code on our tires or tires we are about to purchase, we just need to know which plant codes represent tires made in the USA.
This is a complete list of old and new tire plant codes. That’s a lot to go through, isn’t it? Whew.
So let’s narrow it down to 2 lists. I’ll start with American tire manufacturers with plants that make made in the USA tires. I will also go ahead and give you foreign tire manufacturers who employ Americans on American soil. That is provided they are an ally, or at least don’t wish Americans harm.
American Made Tires
Owned and Manufactured in the USA
TreadWright manufactures 100% made in the USA, affordable, high-performance tires that are better for the environment.
TreadWright is a Texas based manufacturer of affordable, high-performance all terrain and mud terrain tires. All of our tires are made in the USA with pride and an environmentally friendly process. When you buy from TreadWright you are buying factory direct.
TreadWright
American Owned Tire Brands with US Based Tire Plants
Cooper Tire originated in Akron, Ohio, USA in 1914. Most of the tires made by Cooper Tires are for passenger vehicles. They have plants in Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, and Ohio.
USA Plant Codes for Cooper Tires
- 3D – Albany, Georgia
- U9 – Tupelo, Mississippi
- UP – Findlay, Ohio
- UT – Texarkana, Arkansas
Subsidiaries of Cooper Tires with Made in the USA Tires
Founded in 1898, today Goodyear makes tires for passenger vehicles, commercial vehicle, off-road and racing tires, RV tires and more.
USA Plant Codes for Goodyear Tires
- M6 – Lawton, Oklahoma
- MB – Akron, Ohio
- MC – Danville, Virginia
- MD – Gadsden, Alabama
- MJ – Topeka, Kansas
- MK – Union City, Tennessee
- MM, PJ – Fayetteville, North Carolina
- MN – Freeport, Illinois
- MP, PL – Tyler, Texas
Subsidiaries of Goodyear Tires with Made in the USA Tires
- Kelly Tires – Passenger vehicle tires.
- Dunlop Tires – High-performance tires.
- Douglas Tires – Passenger tires exclusively at Walmart.
Foreign Owned Tire Brands with U.S. Based Manufacturing Plants
Bridgestone is a Japanese-owned tire company that manufactures passenger vehicle tires, motorcycle tires, commercial vehicle tires, and more. US manufacturing has grown and Bridgestone is the largest supplier of tires next to LEGO. (I step on a lot of LEGO tires.)
USA Plant Codes for Bridgestone Tires
- 0B, W2, Y2 – Wilson, North Carolina
- 1C, HY – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- 2C, 4D, 5D – Morrison, Tennessee
- 2M, 3M – Bloomington, Illinois
- 7X, 8X, 9X – Graniteville, South Carolina
- 8B, VE, YE, YU – Des Moines, Iowa
- D2, E3, W1, Y7 – Lavergne, Tennessee
- YD – Decatur, Illinois
Subsidiaries of Bridgestone Tire: Firestone
Based in Germany, Continental Tire didn’t expand to the USA until the 1980s. They make passenger vehicle tires, motorcycle tires, and even manufacture auto parts.
US Plant Codes for Continental Tires
- 6B, A3 – Vernon, Illinois
- A9 – Bryan, Ohio
- AC – Charlotte, North Carolina
- AD – Mayfield, Kentucky
- VY – South Sumter, South Carolina
Subsidiaries of Continental Tire: General Tire & Rubber Company
Michelin is a French manufacturer of tires that started United States production in the 1950s. They make tires for bikes, motorcycles, passenger vehicles, farm equipment, and even planes.
US Pant Codes for Michelin Tires
- 4M, M3 – Greenville, South Carolina
- B6 – Spartanburg, South Carolina
- B7 – Dothan, Alabama
- B9 – Lexington, South Carolina
Subsidiaries of Michelin: BFGoodrich, Riken, Tiger, Uniroyal, Kleber, Kormoran
Pirelli is an Italian company that makes passenger vehicle tires, truck and SUV tires, racing tires, and classic car tires.
US Plant Codes for Pirelli Tires
- CH – Hanford, California
- CK – Madison, Tennessee
- JR – Rome, Georgia
Subsidiaries of Pirelli: Armstrong Tire
Specialty Tires Made in the USA
Carlisle Tires manufactures agricultural equipment tires, ATV and UTV tires, construction tires, industrial tires, lawn, garden and golf tires, and other specialty tires. Carlisle tires are made at a manufacturing facility in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Goodyear Endurance Trailer Tires
Goodyear Endurance trailer tires are able to carry heavy-duty loads with a redesigned polyester construction reinforced with steel belts. They operate at lower temperatures when properly inflated with an optimized tread depth and decoupling groove. And best yet? Goodyear Endurance Trailer Tires are made in the USA!
Pin it! Tires Made in the USA
Your saves and shares help other Americans find products that are Made in the USA. Thank you!
I am absolutely diggin’ this site! I sooooo hate all of the imported garbage that takes jobs away from Americans. This site is truly a national treasure.
Thank you, James! It’s a labor of love 🙂