Driving Prices Higher

Everyone knows they're going to pay more at the gas pump.

But few drivers know that in the dark aisles of auto part stores across Sonoma County a less obvious inflation is looming. Prices on everything from tires to battery cables have skyrocketed -- in some cases 70 percent in only a few months.

"I don't think I've ever seen the price of tires jump like this in my 32 years," said John Stobel, co-owner of Brodie's Tire & Brake in Petaluma. "It's not just the price of food that's going up, it's the price of everything else, too."

Businesses around Sonoma County are forced to adjust to the rapid rate of inflation, which is driven by a weak dollar and rising costs because of global competition for commodities such as copper, oil and lead.

Oil-based products account for about 60 percent of the cost to manufacture a tire. It takes seven gallons of oil to make the average tire, according to the Rubber Manufacturers Association.

In Stobel's tire shop, the price of tires is up about 19 percent in the past year. And tire manufacturer Michelin announced this month it is pegging the price of its tires to the cost of oil.

The rapid increase in the cost of lead has forced Interstate Battery System of the North Bay, which distributes about 5,000 batteries a month to area retailers, to fundamentally change the way it does business.

With the cost of lead on the rise, the Santa Rosa company in 2006 began losing money on every battery it sold. Now, it makes its money recycling batteries.

"I'm buying a battery for $50 and selling it to a dealer for $40. It's crazy," said general manager Brian Beazell. "We used to be in the business of selling batteries. Now we are in the business of collecting and recycling them."

About 99 percent of the materials that go into making a new battery come from recycled materials such as lead and plastic from an old battery.

Interstate Battery System of the North Bay is still in the business of distributing. But now it's eking out a profit by distributing batteries in the reverse direction -- sending old ones back to recyclers.

The cost of manufacturing a battery has increased almost 21 percent in the last year and 40 percent since 2004, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Consumers have been shielded from some of these price increases as businesses such as Interstate Battery are hesitant to pass higher costs on to customers.

The price of a top-end battery from Interstate has only jumped 13 percent in the last year, from $90 to $102 -- a little more than half of the cost increase borne by manufacturers.

But the higher costs eventually will filter through to drivers.

"We don't want to gouge people. We are here to make a living just like everybody else," Beazell said.

Some of the lead acid batteries commonly used in cars, trucks and motorcycles have jumped 60 percent in seven months, said Brian Hall, who tracks prices closely as the owner of the electric vehicle company ThunderStruck Motors in Santa Rosa.

"Everyone who is using a lead acid battery is being impacted," he said.

The costs of car parts that use metals such as copper, steel and aluminium are also increasing. Battery cables, which are mostly copper, are about 70 percent more expensive than a year ago.

"The increased price of commodities is mostly due to global competition for these raw materials," said Frank Hampshire, senior director of market research for the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association. "The other thing is the value of the dollar doesn't buy as much. So import prices are going up fast."

Prices of some key commodities have gone up 150 percent in the last year as countries such as India and China drive up demand, Hampshire said.

Like gasoline, most of these auto parts are indispensable for drivers. But customers, whose wallets are being drained by inflation and stagnant wages, are driving their cars longer before replacing parts.

"We're seeing more worn-out tires than we used to," Stobel said. "People are taking them right to the end."

You can reach Staff Writer Nathan Halverson at 521-5494 or nathan.halverson@pressdemocrat.com.