US tyre shipments expected to rise in 2018

The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) projects that tyre shipments in the USA will increase by one per cent to 319.8 million units this year. An additional 0.7 million original equipment passenger car tyres are expected to be shipped this year, a total of 45.9 million units and year-on-year growth of 1.5 per cent. Shipments of replacement market passenger car tyres were expected to be 1.5 million units higher this year, up 0.7 per cent to 211.2 million units.

The association anticipates a weaker market for light truck tyres in 2018. Shipments of original equipment light truck tyres are expected to reach 5.1 million units, 0.3 million units or 5.6 per cent lower than last year. Projected replacement light truck tyre shipments come to 31.2 million units, 0.1 million units or 0.3 per cent below last year’s result.

Truck tyre shipments, on the other hand, are expected to be higher this year, particularly within the original equipment segment. The USTMA is looking forward to 6.2 million truck tyres being shipped in 2018, an increase of 13.4 per cent or 0.7 million units. Replacement truck tyre shipments are expected to grow by 0.5 million units or 2.7 per cent to 20.2 million units.

The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association is the national trade association for tyre manufacturers that produce tyres in the USA. Its 12 member companies operate 56 tyre-related manufacturing facilities in 17 states and generate over US$27 billion in annual sales.