Global tyre industry recovers strongly in February

ERJ staff report (DS)

Paris - Michelin has updated its website with tyre market data for the month of February. Once again latest figures show a continued recovery in demand, with the exception of European OE truck business.

In the OE truck tyre segment, every market in the world except Europe rose in the month of February and every market rose for the first two months. The site gives only percentage changes, not absolute numbers.

The year so far saw a 12.2 percent decrease in European sales, though the rate of decline may be slowing. February's sales fell by just 3.1 percent year on year. The steady improvement in North American truck OE sales continued, with sales in the first two months up by 8.5 percent, though the growth in February was faster, at 12.8 percent.

The Brazilian market's sharp recovery also continued in February. The year to date showed growth of 54.5 percent, with the February figures up by 67.1 percent. Japan's marekts show huge growth, with sales in the year to date running 61.4 percent above the same period in 2009. Compared to last February, sales were up by 68.5 percent. China saw stronger OE sales in February, continuing the steady recovery, with OE sales up by 15.8 percent in the year to date, following a 21.3 percent improvement in the month of February.

Truck replacement tyres in February showed universal growth, as volumes increased around the world. European truck tyre markets grew by 28.0 percent in the first two months,and by 32.1 percent in February. North America grew by 14.4 percent in the year to February, again helped by an increase of 15.3 percent in the year-on-year figure.

In Brazil, a year-on-year increase of 28.2 percent brought the two-month figure to a healthy 37.9 percent growth. The recovery in Japanese replacement truck tyre sales continued in February, up by 11.2 percent in the year to date and up by 20.6 percent in the month of February. China sales for the month grew by 14.9 percent in February, buildong on growth in January and making sales in the first two months 12.0 percent higher than a year before.

As has been recorded elsewhere, the OE car business is reporting healthy growth, and the figures in February are a significant improvement on last year's numbers. Michelin said the total European OE market for car tyres in the two months to February 2010 was up by 42.9 percent, while the year-on-year figure for February increased by 47.0 percent. The North American market also grew strongly over a depressed market a year ago, with the equivalent figures showing an increase of 77.6 percent for the two-month period and a year-on-year increase in February of 54.4 percent.

China's OE demand was up by a massive 91.3 percent in the year to date and up by an incredible 49.9 percent in February.

In the replacement business, the steady growth in Europe continued. In February the two-month figures showed a growth of 3.4 percent while the one-month figure grew by 1.0 percent. In North America, the replacement market grew by 5.1 percent in the first two months, helped by an increase of 9.9 percent in the most recent month. Chinese replacement sales continued to grow, showing growth of 21.6 percent in the year to date slowed by an increase of just 1.2 percent in the most recent month.

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Press release from Michelin