Tire imports down double-digits for second straight quarter

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Imports of tires into the U.S. fell by double-digits in the three- and six-month periods ended June 30, with the commercial truck/bus tire sector being hardest hit, the latest statistics show, reflecting reduced sell-in demand thus far in 2023.

Imports of medium truck/bus tires, which had been running a record levels throughout 2021 and 2022, fell 41 percent during the second quarter, to 3.96 million units, and are down 25 percent, to 8.43 million units, through six months, according to the latest data from the Commerce Department.

This is the second straight quarter where imports have fallen measurably.

At the same time, imports of passenger and light truck tires are off by double-digits as well for both the second quarter and first half, as the wholesale sector works to draw down inventories bloated by over-ordering during the depths of the supply-chain crisis in 2022.

The drop in importing activity reflects in part the latest U.S. shipment forecast from the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA), which was scaled back from an earlier projection and is lower than 2022 shipments.

Imports of passenger tires fell 12.3 percent in the quarter to 40.7 million units and 11.6 percent in the six months to 76.4 million units.

Imports of light-truck tires fell 26.3 percent during the quarter to 7.53 million units and 24.5 percent for the half-year to 14.4 million units.

The import shipment declines were nearly universal across the board. Thailand continues as the No. 1 source of imported tires in all three of the major categories, followed by Mexico in the passenger tire category, Canada in light truck tires and Japan in medium truck/bus.

In the passenger tire sector, only Vietnam and Cambodia showed improvements in the quarter over the same period a year ago. Imports from Vietnam were up 17.7 percent while Cambodia's shipments went from zero a year ago to 1.06 million this year.

Imports from Indonesia fell the most, dropping 40.5 percent in the quarter an 29.8 percent for the six months. Among the manufacturers in Indonesia that export to the U.S. are P.T. Elangperdana Tyre Industry, P.T. Gajah Tunggal (part of Giti Tire) and P.T. Multistrada (part of Group Michelin).

In light truck tires, Cambodia was the only nation to show an improvement over a year ago, shipping over 400,000 units to the U.S. in the quarter and nearly 700,000 for the half-year, both up from zero a year ago. There are two tire makers currently active in Cambodia—subsidiaries of Jiangsu General Science Technology Co. Ltd. and Sailun Group—with more being built.

Category leader Thailand experienced 32.4 percent and 37.4 percent drops in shipments for the quarter and half-year periods.

In the medium/truck bus tire sector, Spain was the only nation to buck the downward trend, with a 50-percent boost in the quarter, which helped raise the half-year total 8.7 percent over the year-ago period. Truck tires imported from Spain (where both Group Michelin and Bridgestone Corp. have production) carry the highest average value as well, $345.95, according to the government data.

The average value of imported passenger and medium truck tires slipped slightly, to $60.78 and $198.34, respectively, while that for light truck tires rose slightly, to $84.24.