Goodyear tire shipments for July behind industry pace

AKRON (Aug. 22)—Goodyear's shipments of tires in July to its aftermarket and original equipment customers in North America continued to lag behind the industry trends, the tire maker said in its latest monthly investor update. For the month, Goodyear said its shipments of replacement passenger and light truck tires lagged behind the pace of the industry, which shipped 7 percent fewer tires than a year ago. Excluding the effects of the Ford Motor Co. tire replacement program last year, industry shipments were flat with July 2001, Goodyear said. Industrywide replacement shipments of commercial vehicle tires were up 8 percent over last July, but Goodyear's shipments were below the industry level. At OE, the industry shipped 16 percent more passenger and light truck tires and 30 percent more commercial vehicle tires; Goodyear's shipments trailed the industry pace in both cases.