The ratings on The Goodyear Tire&Rubber Co. reflect the Akron, Ohio-based company's stressed financial profile characterized by low earnings in North America, a highly leveraged capital structure, and heavy underfunded employee benefit liabilities. These factors more than offset the company's business strengths, including its position as one of the three largest global tire manufacturers, its good geographic diversity, its strong distribution, and its well-recognized brand name. Goodyear has reported improved performance during the past year, resulting from higher sales, price increases, improved product mix, and cost reductions, which were only partially offset by higher raw material costs. New product introductions, increased consumer demand, and market-share gains in high-profit tire categories contributed to the improved results. Despite these improvements,
