RMA Believes Worst Not Over as US Shipments Fall Further

RMA says that 2009 US tyre shipments will fall more than 7 per cent, a sharp drop that follows a 9 per cent overall decrease in 2008. RMA projects that total tyre shipments will decline by some 21 million units to 261 million tyres, “a level last experienced in 1993 and approximately 60 million units fewer than the 321 million unit peak in 2000,” the group said.

The fall-off is driven by “continued erosion of consumer confidence, higher unemployment, depressed auto sales, a decline in vehicle miles travelled and downward revisions in domestic economic conditions for both the consumer and commercial sectors,” RMA said in a statement.

Still, RMA sees a turnaround in 2010, in which it sees a “modest recovery to 270 million tyres.

Segment by segment, here is how RMA sees shipments:

OE P-Metric: Down 22 per cent to 29 million tyres.

OE LT-Metric: Down 31 per cent to 2.9 million tyres.

OE Medium Truck: Down 30 per cent to 2.6 million units.

Replacement P-Metric: Down 3.5 per cent to 187 million units.

Replacement LT-Metric: Down 8 per cent to 27 million tyres.

Replacement Medium Truck: Down some 11 per cent to 13.2 million tyres. (Tire Review/Akron)