WASHINGTON (Dec. 3, 2007) — The U.S. replacement market for tires through August was a mixed bag, with shipments of passenger tires up but those of light and medium/heavy truck and bus tires down, according to the latest Rubber Manufacturers Association data.
Production of all types of tires was down for the January-August period from the previous year, whereas imports of passenger tires continued to grow at a double-digit pace and imports of truck tires fell by a double-digit percentage.
Through August, shipments of replacement passenger tires were up 4.2 percent versus the 2006 period to 133.3 million units, the RMA data show. Production fell 7.5 percent to 104.4 million units and imports surged 11.9 percent to 77.7 million units. Original equipment shipments were off 3.9 percent to 31.6 million units.
Replacement shipments of light truck tires for the eight-month period were up 0.3 percent versus 2006 to 22.2 million units. Production fell 12.4 percent to 17 million units and imports were unchanged at 16.2 million units. OE shipments fell 10.9 percent to 3.14 million units.
Shipments of replacement truck/bus tires were off 5.2 percent to 10.9 million units. Production fell 3.6 percent to 10.1 million units, and imports slumped 12 percent to 8 million units. OE shipments were off 27.4 percent to 3.37 million units.