Record tire shipments expected for 2000

WASHINGTON (Aug. 11)—The Rubber Manufacturers Association´s Tire Market Analysis Committee has reissued record shipment projections and industry forecasts through 2002. New estimates confirm the committee´s March prediction that shipments in 2000 will match or surpass 1999´s record levels before becoming moderate over the next two years. Among key projections, original equipment passenger tire shipments are expected to climb 700,000 units to a record 61.7 million units in 2000; 1999´s record OE light truck tire shipments of 8.4 million units are expected to flatten due to slowing light vehicle sales; and OE medium and wide-based truck tire shipments will decline 600,000 units this year, beginning a shinkage trend that will last throughout 2001 before a rebound to current levels in 2002. RMA President and CEO Donald Shea in a prepared statement credited the projected industry activity to continued "economic expansion and the low-inflation monetary policies instituted by the Federal Reserve."