Automotive News: S.C. North America's Tire Capital

South Carolina is cementing its reputation as North America's tire capital.

Five tire plants have opened or are in the works in that state, as suppliers race to alleviate a tire shortage in North America's booming automotive market.

South Carolina became the nation's leading tire producer in the fourth quarter last year with estimated daily output of 89,000 tires, edging Oklahoma's 88,000 units, according to Tire Business, a sibling publication of Automotive News.

Ohio, home of historic tire center Akron, is No. 12 on the list at 23,900 tires per day.

The fresh wave of tire makers' investments in South Carolina:

•  In June, the Giti Tire Group of Singapore announced plans to build a $560 million plant in Chester County to make tires for original equipment and the aftermarket.

• In May, Trelleborg Wheel Systems disclosed plans to spend $50 million on an operation in Spartanburg County to produce tires for farm equipment.

• In January, Continental Tire opened a $500 million tire plant in Sumter to produce passenger vehicle tires for original equipment and the aftermarket.

• In December, Michelin dedicated a plant in Anderson County that will produce tires for earth-moving equipment. That project, along with an expansion of its Lexington tire factory, cost $750 million.

•  Bridgestone spent $1.2 billion to expand its passenger tire plant in Aiken and construct a factory to produce tires for mining vehicles.

The Giti project is the company's first North American tire plant. Although Giti is headquartered in Singapore, seven of its tire plants are in China and an eighth is in Indonesia. Tire Business ranks Giti as the world's 11th-largest tire maker.