Word: rubberize
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...average driver may not think much about the tires on his car until one goes flat. But those who operate the mining industry's monster trucks, whose wheels are 12 ft. in diameter and weigh 7,500 lbs., know that the rubber on the rims is worth its weight in gold. Giant tires are in increasingly short supply as the extraction industry hits overdrive to chase rising commodities prices. As demand for raw materials grows in the booming economies of India and China, mining companies are scurrying to dig deeper, faster and more efficiently for coal, copper and other materials...
...major manufacturers have long-term contracts with their biggest customers, so those orders will be met first, which means there isn't enough capacity left over to supply smaller or newer mining operations. That has become an opportunity for a growing group of big-wheel brokers. The rubber is meeting the road at up to $60,000 apiece. "The shortage is enabling anyone with something black and round with a hole in the middle to supply it at an exorbitant price," says Prabhu. "People have even told us to put our tires on eBay." Prabhu won't sacrifice the company...
...Chicago, president of the Western states division of the Purcell Tire & Rubber Co., says the shortage is the worst he has seen in his 44 years in the industry. Its scale hit home, Chicago says, when he saw a tire he had donated to a school--where it had been painted for use on the playground--arrive at his shop for repairs, having been harvested by a mining company...
...Within two years, Putin had fully accomplished his program, outlined in the wake of the Beslan tragedy: he has a rubber-stamp Parliament. He has intimidated the mass media. He has firmly taken over Russia's main riches of oil and gas. He subdued the regions and enlarged the powers of the FSB. In spite of that, reports of terror bombings and shootings have grown into a routine daily occurrence...
...finals duel in Flushing, N.Y., could be the hard-court rubber match and fuel a high-profile clash that professional tennis craves. Although the two players downplay the rivalry, it was the fierce face-offs between John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, and McEnroe and nerveless Swede Bjorn Borg, that drove the sport to its heights. Since 1992, the year Jimmy and Mac finally hung up their racquets, the number of Americans playing tennis has fallen 36%, to 11 million, according to the National Sporting Goods Association. Television ratings have trended downward...