FULLERTON, CA - Yokohama Tire Corp. says it will raise commercial tire prices effective Sept. 1, 2008, due to "continued record increases in the cost of raw materials and energy," reported by Modern Tire Dealer magazine.

The company will raise prices on large and extra large bias and radial OTR tires up to 4 percent, and medium-truck and light truck commercial tires by up to 6 percent.

Jim MacMaster, executive vice president of Yokohama's Business Division, says there also will be in-line adjustments, which will be announced at a later date.

Consumer tires will not be affected by the increase. (Yokohama adjusted prices on its consumer tires by up to 6 percent on July 1, 2008.)

"We are doing our best to contain costs through efficient operations and by using the latest manufacturing technologies," says MacMaster. "However, raw materials, energy and transportation costs continue to soar and our pricing, unfortunately, must reflect these record-high costs."

Michelin North America Inc. will hike prices on its Michelin and BFGoodrich brand commercial tires up to 8 percent on the same day.

For more information on Yokohama's product line, visit www.yokohamatire.com.