[Stay on top of transportation news: .]
Goodyear Posts $358 Mln. 4Q Loss on Strike Impacts
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. reported Friday it lost $358 million in the fourth quarter due to a strike at 16 of its plants that reduced sales.
The world’s largest tire maker’s loss was $2.02 per share, on sales of $4.98 billion. It had taken a $51 million loss, or 29 cents a share, on sales of $4.94 billion in the previous fourth qurter.The company estimated the strike at 16 of its North American plants reduced fourth-quarter sales by $363 million, or $2.07 a share, and tire volume by 2.8 million units.More than 14,000 Goodyear workers who are members of the United Steelworkers union went on strike starting in October. They returned to work Jan. 2 after reaching agreement with the company in late December. (Click here for previous coverage.)For the year, Goodyear’s sales rose 3% to a record $20.3 billion, despite a 5% decline in tire unit volume. Its 2006 net loss was $330 million or $1.86 per share, compared to net income of $228 million or $1.16 in 2005.