"Lower Oil Prices Strike at Heart of Canada’s Oil Sands Production"

"OTTAWA — For as long as 400-ton dump trucks have been rumbling around the open pit mines of Canada’s oil sands, crews from Kal Tire have been on hand to replace and repair their $70,000, 13-foot diameter tires.

But the relationship, going back over a decade, didn’t spare the company when oil prices began plummeting.

Dan Allan, the senior vice president of Kal’s mining tire unit, said that customers immediately began looking for price concessions. Others asked Kal to withdraw personnel from some sites or swiftly canceled plans to add more maintenance crews."

Ian Austen reports for the New York Times February 2, 2015.