Michelin releases sales figures for July

ERJ staff report (DS)

Paris - Michelin has updated its website with tyre market data for the month of July. The new data shows that July was, with a few exceptions, a poor month for tyre sales.

Michelin said the total European OE market for car tyres in the seven months to July 2008 was up by 2.0 percent, while the year-on-year figure for July rose by just 0.6 percent. The site gives only percentage changes, not absolute numbers. The North American market continued its downtrend, with the equivalent figures showing a decline of 11.9 percent for the seven-month period and a year-on-year decrease in July of 9.9 percent.

In the replacement business, the decline in Europe accelerated in July, with the seven-month figures showing a fall of 3.5 percent and the one-month figure down by 6.8 percent. In North America, the replacement market fell by 1.5 percent in the first seven months, while the decline stabilised temporarily into July, with a mere 0.3 percent fall.

Chinese replacement sales continued to grow, with the increase in the year to date running at 19.8 percent.

In radial truck OE sales, Europe's growth faltered. Although the first seven months saw an increase of 11.8 percent, July's sales were down by 3.0 percent year on year. The appalling decline in North American truck OE sales July is slowing slightly, with sales in the first seven months down by 17.4 percent, although July showed a decline of just 9.8 percent.

The Brazilian market continued to boom with sales up by 21.0 percent in the year to date boosted by a 28.8 percent growth in the month of July. Asian OE truck sales grew by a remarkable 40.5 percent in the month of July, compared to July 2007.

Truck replacement tyres showed a similar tendency. European truck tyre markets fell by 4.9 percent in the first seven months, and by 3.3 percent in July. North America fell by 3.6 percent in the year to July, despite an increase of 3.1 percent in the year-on-year figure. In Brazil, a year-on-year growth of 31.4 percent helped the seven-month figure grow to 29.7 percent. Meanwhile in Asia, a seven-month growth of 22.7 percent matched the year-on-year figure of 21.7 percent.

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Press release from Michelin