BRUSSELS—European tire shipments showed marked variations in the second quarter and first half of 2016, with strong gains in motorcycle and scooter tires but a sharp downturn in agricultural tires, according to the latest figures from the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers' Association.
Consumer and truck tires grew modestly for the quarter and the half, the ETRMA said.
Consumer tires were up 1.5 percent for the second quarter, to 49.3 million compared with 48.6 million in the second quarter of 2015, ETRMA said. For the first half of 2016, consumer shipments stood at 102.6 million, up 2 percent from the 100.6 million recorded for the same period last year.
Truck tires inched up 0.4 percent for the quarter, to 1.41 million from 1.4 million, the association said. First-half shipments in that sector increased 3.6 percent, to 3.7 million from 3.6 million, it said.
Agricultural tire sales slumped 7 percent for the quarter, to 386,000 from 415,000. For the first half, shipments were down 7.8 percent, to 784,000 from 851,000. ETRMA said agricultural tire shipments were “critically low and consistently decreasing.”
Conversely, motorcycle tire shipments grew 10 percent in the second quarter, to 2.7 million from 2.4 million. Shipments in that sector were up 6.7 percent for the quarter, to 6.1 million from 5.7 million, ETRMA said.
The second quarter of 2016 was a less dynamic market generally for European tires than the first, ETRMA said. This was demonstrated by a 2 percent drop in consumer tire shipments during June, it said.
ETRMA tire manufacturer membership includes Apollo Vredestein, Bridgestone Europe, Brisa, Cooper Tires, Continental, Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe, Hankook, Marangoni, Michelin, Mitas, Nokian Tyres, Pirelli and Trelleborg Wheel Systems, the association said in a July 14 news release.
The national tire associations of Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom also are ETRMA members, the association said.
The European tire industry directly employs more than 360,000 people and supports another 800,000 jobs in related sectors, the association said.