Light truck, TBR tire imports boom by double digits

WASHINGTON—The pace of importing light and medium-duty truck tires continued in the second quarter of 2024 at a rate over 20% percent compared to the same period a year ago, according to the latest Department of Commerce trade data.

Passenger tire imports, on the other hand, were down slightly versus the 2023 period.

Imports of medium truck and bus tires rose 20.6% for the quarter and were up 21.1 percent for the half year, with shipments from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and India up way beyond that, Tire Business' analysis of the monthly Commerce Department show.

Cambodia—where Chinese tire makers Sailun Tire Group, Jiangsu General Science Technology Co. Ltd. (JGST) and Doublestar Group have opened plants—is now shown as the sixth-largest source of imported truck tires, topping 430,000 units for the half year, an 87-percent increase over 2023.

Earlier, some market observers had surmised that the pace of truck and bus tire importing from Thailand—up 46 percent in the first quarter over the comparable 2023 period—was being fueled in part by pre-buying ahead of the possible imposition of elevated import duties on those products.

Instead, the Commerce Department in mid-May rejected calls for elevated import duties on truck and bus tires from Thailand. The pace of truck and bus tire imports from Thailand cooled in the second quarter, but were still 16.6 percent ahead the comparable 2023 period and are up 32.4 percent for the year to date.

Overall, the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) is projecting an 8.9 percent increase in replacement market truck and bus tires this year, a marked swing from 2023 when shipments were 22.5 percent behind 2022.

Replacement passenger tire shipments, the largest category tracked by the USTMA, will remain relatively flat at 221.2 million units this year versus 219.2 million units in 2023.

Passenger tire imports reflect the low growth forecast, with shipments from abroad falling 0.5 percent in the quarter to 40.5 million units, leaving imports for the half-year up 7.5 percent at 83.5 million units. Thailand is the clear No. 1 in this category at 20.3 million units for the January-June period; after Thailand, Mexico, Vietnam and Indonesia are the next largest sources of imported passenger tires.

Replacement market light truck tire shipments are slated to jump 4.7 percent, to 35.9 million units this year from 34.3 million units in 2023.

Light truck tire imports jumped 21.7 percent during the quarter and are up 31.4 percent for the first six months at 18.9 million units. Thailand, Vietnam, Canada, Cambodia and Mexico are the leading sources of such imports, the data show.

Meanwhile, the trade association reported that original equipment (OE) shipments for passenger tires will be unchanged from 2023 at 45.7 million units, while OE light truck shipments are expected to increase 5.5 percent to 6.2 million units.