MUSCATINE, Iowa — Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions (BBTS) on Tuesday announced a 12-percent price increase on its Bridgestone and Firestone brand truck and bus radial tires, effective immediately.

“Unfortunately, severely escalating raw material costs, as well as energy and other costs related to manufacturing, have made a price increase of this level unavoidable,” BBTS President Kurt Danielson said. “We remain committed always to provide a premium package of quality and value to our customers.”

Last summer, BBTS increased the base prices of Bridgestone brand bus and truck radial tires up to 6 percent in the U.S.

BBTS, which is a division of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC, manufactures medium and heavy duty truck tires for the original equipment and replacement markets in the U.S. and Canada. It also offers retreading through its Bandag brand.