Pirelli says European truck tyre sales in August were behind last year

ERJ staff report (DS)

Milan, Italy -- Pirelli said European truck tyre replacement sales increased by 9 percent in the first eight months, but the August figure was a decrease of 6 percent compared with a year ago. OE figures continued to show strong growth, recording an increase of 51 percent in the year to date and 26 percent in August.

The company updated its website with tyre sales in different regions for the month of August and the first eight months of 2011.

The data reports only percentage changes, not absolute numbers.

OE truck tyre sales in the NAFTA region also maintained their recovery, increasing by 56 percent in the year to date, and by 54 percent in the most recent month, a growth rate consistent with the earlier part of the year. On the replacement side, however the slowdown in sales continued, with an increase of 7 percent in the first eight months but sales were up by 5 percent in the month of August. Sales data for the Mercosur region showed OE sales up by 7 percent in the first eight months, but sales recovered strongly in August to show 27 percent growth. On the replacement side, growth in the year to date was just 2 percent, but that reversed in August with a decline of 6 percent.

In Asia, the August data was not available, but July data showed that replacement truck tyre sales in CHina in the first seven months was down by 6 percent, while OE sales in the month of August were down by 14 percent Sales in the first seven months were just 0.1 percent behind the same period a year ago.

Replacement sales in Japan showed 18 percent growth over the first seven months of 2011 though the replacement figure was up by 20 percent in the month of August, showing a continued post-tsunami recovery. July figures showed OE sales ahead by 3 percent, but the figure for the first seven months was down by 16 percent.

In the car and light truck segment, European OE sales in the first eight months were up by 4 percent, despite a decline of 3 percent in August. Replacement sales were up by 5 percent in the year to date and up by 11 percent in August.

North American (NAFTA) sales of car and light truck tyres were positive. On the replacement side, sales in the eight months were level with last year, but showed an increase of 3 percent in August. OE figures were also positive, with sales in the year to date up by 9 percent and in August up by 11 percent. In the Mercosur region, OE sales data was not available. Replacement sales were again weak, with the year so far down by 1 percent on the same period in 2010, despite an increase of 3 percent in the month of August.

Sales data from China showed a 14 percent increase in replacement sales in the first seven months (to July). OE sales in China were also positive, showing a 4 percent increase in the first seen months and a 3 percent growth in July. Japanese sales of replacement tyres fell by 13 percent in the first seven months and declined by 3 percent in the month of July, while OE sales were weak, with the year to July showing a decline of 27 percent, although the July figure was just 10 percent behind the same month a year ago.

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Tyre Market watch from Pirelli