WASHINGTON—The pace of tires being imported into the U.S. ramped up considerably in the first quarter of 2024 with shipments from abroad up double-digits in all three major categories—passenger, light truck and medium truck/bus—according to the latest Census Bureau data.
The increase is in contrast to the full-year 2023, when imports of light and medium-duty truck tires fell by double digits and passenger tires edged up just 1.1 percent.
The size of the first-quarter increase was influenced in part by a relatively weak 2023 first quarter, when import shipments were down measurably from the first three months of 2022.
This time, imports in the three key categories were up double-digits over the 2023 period, led by a 42.4-percent jump in light truck imports and complemented by 21.5 percent and 16.4 percent increases, respectively, in truck/bus tire and passenger tire imports. See accompanying chart for detailed numbers.