Tire shipments surge in February

WASHINGTON (May 12)—U.S. total tire shipments continued to grow in 2000 with a 9.6-percent jump in February to almost 29 million units. Year-to-date total results show an overall jump of 7.4 percent compared with the first two months of 1999. Strong growth in all segments except medium truck tires drove the growth. In Canada, overall shipments grew a fraction of a percent for the month, adding to 1.4-percent growth for the year-to-date to 2.1 million units. A slight drop in passenger tire shipments in the first two months in Canada was offset by strong growth in the truck/bus tire segment.