Tyre market boom continues, but at slower pace
ERJ staff report (DS)
Paris - Michelin has updated its website with tyre market data for the month of August.
In the OE truck tyre segment, Chinese OE markets fell, otherwise, ever market grew, marking five consecutive months of recovery. Every market rose in the year to date. The site gives only percentage changes, not absolute numbers.
The year so far saw a healthy 39.9 percent growth in European OE truck tyre sales strengthening the growth seen last month. August's sales actually grew by a remarkable 108.0 percent year on year. The steady improvement in North American truck OE sales continued, with sales in the first eight months up by 27.3 percent, though the growth in August was stronger, at 46.1 percent.
The Brazilian market's sharp recovery also continued in August. The year to date showed growth of 60.6 percent, with the August figures up by 61.9 percent. Japan's markets continue to show strong growth, with sales in the year to date running at almost double (81.2 percent growth) the same period in 2009, though the recovery is clearly easing. Compared to last August, sales were up by just 26.1 percent. China saw much weaker OE sales in August, slowing the impetus in the steady recovery so far this year, with OE sales up by 45.7 percent in the year to date, following a 13.1 percent decline in the month of August.
Truck replacement tyres in August showed universal growth, as volumes increased around the world, albeit at slightly slower pace than the last few months. European truck tyre markets grew by 25.8 percent in the first eight months, and by 22.7 percent in August. North America grew by 19.6 percent in the year to August, with an increase of 16.2 percent in the year-on-year figure.
In Brazil, a strong year-on-year increase of 46.8 percent brought the eight-month figure to a healthy 36.1 percent growth. The steady recovery in Japanese replacement truck tyre sales continued in August, up by 11.4 percent in the year to date and up by 6.0 percent in the month of August. China sales for the month grew by 6.4 percent in August, making sales in the first eight months 10.3 percent higher than a year before.
The OE car business is stabilising after the first half boom recovered much of the ground from last year's poor figures. Michelin said the total European OE market for car tyres in the eight months to August 2010 was up by 18.6 percent, while the year-on-year figure for August eased once more, showing a 10.0 percent decrease. The North American market also grew strongly over a depressed market a year ago, with the equivalent figures showing an increase of 61.8 percent for the eight-month period and a year-on-year increase in August of 34.0 percent.
China's OE demand was up by a massive 40.5 percent in the year to date although the increase in August was just 12.7 percent.
In the replacement car tyre business, the steady growth in Europe continued. In August the eight-month figures showed a growth of 8.7 percent with the one-month figure showing 6.2 percent growth. In North America, the replacement market grew by 6.3 percent in the first eight months, but an decrease of 2.7 percent in the most recent month indicates the second month of a slow-down. Chinese replacement sales continued to grow, showing growth of 18.9 percent in the year to date helped by an increase of 24.8 percent in the most recent month.
This is an external link and should open in a new window. If the window does not appear, please check your pop-up blocking software. ERJ is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Press release from Michelin
This article is only available to subscribers - subscribe today
Subscribe for unlimited access. A subscription to European Rubber Journal includes:
- Every issue of European Rubber Journal (6 issues) including Special Reports & Maps.
- Unlimited access to ERJ articles online
- Daily email newsletter – the latest news direct to your inbox
- Access to the ERJ online archive