TIRE SHORTAGE IN THE USSR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T01003A001100380002-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 7, 2000
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: January 11, 1962
• Content Type: BRIEF

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C-O-N-F-I-D-E-N-T-I-A-L
CIA/RR CB-62-5
25X1 C
CopY'No..' 28
11 January 1962
CURRENT SUPPORT BRIEF
TIRE SHORTAGE IN THE USSR
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This report represents the immediate views of the
originating intelligence components of the Office
of Research and Reports. Comments are solicited.
W-A-R-N-I-N-G
This document contains information affecting the national defense of
the United States, within the meaning of the espionage laws, Title 18
USC, Sections 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which
in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
C-O-N-F-I-D-E-N-T-I-A-L
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C-O-N-F-I-D-E-N-T-I-A-L
TIRE SHORTAGE IN THE USSR
A severe shortage of tires continues to harass the Soviet economy
despite sizable increases in production during the past several years.
According to a statement made in October at the 22nd Congress of the
CPSU, hundreds of thousands of motor vehicles in the USSR are without
tires. 1/ The deficiency has been attributed to insufficient produc-
tion capacity, but the poor quality--and, hence, short road life--of
Soviet tires undoubtedly is an important factor. Over-optimistic
forecasting of the output of retread tires may also have contributed
to the deficit, 2/ which is believed to have totaled at least two
million units in 1960.
During the past several years, tire shortages have been reported
regularly in Soviet literature. In 1957, many vehicles in Azerbaydzhan
were said to be idle for lack or tires, and during the following year
more than half the trucks of the Georgian republic reportedly were
unusable because of shortages of tires or replacement parts. 3/ Short-
ages persisted through 1960, 4/ and as recently as March, 1961, offi-
cials in Alma Ata told Khrushchev of insufficient supplies of tires
for automobiles and trucks. 5/
The 22nd Congress delegates were told that speedier construction
of new capacity at plants in Yaroslavl , Moscow, Krasnoyarsk, and
Omsk would have permitted adequate tire production. Equipment short-
ages have delayed construction at Omsk, while misallocations of in-
vestment funds and lack of equipment have plagued builders at Kras-
noyarsk. 6/
Despite the lag in plant construction, tire output apparently
is increasing in accordance with the Seven Year Plan (1959-65). Pro-
duction of tires in 1960, 17.2 million units, exceeded 1959 output
by approximately 11 percent, the growth rate needed to attain the
1965 goal of 29 million units. 7/ Production in 1961 was scheduled
to total 19.1 million units, anu in 1962, 21 million units, the out-
puts required to maintain the 11 percent annual growth rate. 8/ This
expansion of output is being aided by purchases of technology and
equipment from the Free World. The UK has provided a plant with a
capacity of 2 million tires per year at Dnepropetrovsk and is to
build a similar installation at Volzhsk, near Volgograd. 9/ Italy
plans to supply a third plant at a location as yet unannounced. 10/
The substantial gains consistently being achieved in tire out-
put suggest that the poor quality of Soviet tires is a significant
factor in the current shortage. This low quality, which results in
an average road life substantially below that in the West, can be
traced to poor fabrication of tires and to the use of inferior grades
of rubber, carbon black, tire cord, and other components. Plans
call for an increase in tire life by 1965 to a level 25-30 percent
above that of 1958, but it is doubtful that much improvement has
been made yet, inasmuch as plants supplying better quality raw ma-
terials for tire fabrication are not yet in operation. By expanding
recapping facilities, the USSR can further increase road life. In
1962, according to a December speech by V. Novikov, Chairman of Gos-
plan, 2 million tires are to be recapped. 11/ In 1959 the number of
recaps probably totaled only about 600,000,
11 January 1962 ,CIA/RR CB-62-5 25X1C Page 2
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Analyst:
Coord:
Source:
1. USSR..
2.. USSR.
3. State,
25X1A
Pravda,
21 Oct 61, p. 4.
U.
Pravda,
7 Dec 61, p. 2.
U.
Moscow.
Dsp no 470, 14 Mar 58,,p. 7. OFF USE.
4~ USSR, Ekonomicheskava gazeta, 12 Nov 6U, p. 1. U.
STATSPEC 5.
25X1 C
25X1 C
25X1 C
11 January 1962 CIA/RR CB-62-5
7. USSR. Narodnoye khozyzystvo SSSR v 1959 gody, Moscow, 7.960,
p. 206.-U.
USSR. Pravda, 26 Jan 61. U.
USSR. Kauchuk i retina, no 9, August 1959, p. 2. U.
8. USSR. Pravda, 7 Dec 61, p.,9. U.
9. UK..Comtel Reuter, East-West Trade News, London, no 37/61,
14 Sep 61..U. '
10. Commerce. Foreign Commer6e Weekly, 3 Apr 61. U.
11. USSR. Pravda, 7 Dec 61 p . 2. U.
6. USSR. Pravda, 18 Jun 61, p. 2. U"
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