January tire shipments surge ahead

WASHINGTON (May 8)—Overall U.S. tire shipments jumped 5.2 percent to 26.8 million units in January 2000, spurred by strong results in the passenger and light truck tire segments. Medium and heavy truck tires saw a dip for the month compared with January 1999, with overall medium truck tire shipments dropping 2.3 percent and heavy truck tire shipments dipping 6.6 percent. Growth was more moderate in Canada, where overall shipments increased 2.4 percent compared to the year-earlier month to 988,998 units. In the U.S., overall passenger tire shipments jumped 5.2 percent, while light truck tire shipments surged 9 percent.