Michelin releases August market trend data

ERJ staff report (DS)

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

Michelin said the total European OE market for car tyres in the eight months to August 2008 was up by just 0.4 percent, while the year-on-year figure for August fell by 16.7 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 13.5 percent for the eight-month period and a year-on-year decrease in August of 23.3 percent.

In the replacement business, the decline in Europe accelerated in August, with the eight-month figures showing a fall of 4.6 percent and the one-month figure down by 12.1 percent. In North America, the replacement market fell by 3.0 percent in the first eight months, while the decline accelerated into August, with a 12.2 percent fall.

Chinese replacement sales continued to grow rapidly, with the increase in the year to date running at 19.4 percent.

In radial truck OE sales, Europe's growth recovered somewhat. The first eight months saw an increase of 11.0 percent, although August's sales were up by only by 3.7 percent year on year. The appalling decline in North American truck OE sales August continues, with sales in the first eight months down by 17.8 percent, as August showed a decline of 20.5 percent.

The Brazilian market continued to boom with sales up by 19.8 percent in the year to date, slowed slightly by a 12.9 percent growth rate in the month of August.

Truck replacement tyres showed a negative tendency. European truck tyre markets fell by 5.2 percent in the first eight months, and by 7.3 percent in August. North America fell by 4.1 percent in the year to August, and 2.8 percent in the year-on-year figure. In Brazil, a year-on-year growth of 13.1 percent slowed the eight-month figure growth to 26.8 percent.

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Press release from Michelin