Global tyre market recovery continues says Michelin

ERJ staff report (DS)

Paris - Michelin has updated its website with tyre market data for the month of June. Once again latest figures show a continued and healthy recovery in demand in all markets, matching data supplied by Pirelli yesterday.

In the OE truck tyre segment, every market in the world rose in the month of June and for the third consecutive month, every market rose in the year to date. The site gives only percentage changes, not absolute numbers.

The year so far saw 28.7 percent growth in European OE truck sales strengthening the growth seen last month. June's sales actually grew by a remarkable 74.7 percent year on year. The steady improvement in North American truck OE sales continued, with sales in the first six months up by 22.8 percent, though the growth in June was much stronger, at 36.7 percent.

The Brazilian market's sharp recovery also continued in June. The year to date showed growth of 58.2 percent, with the June figures up by 62.3 percent. Japan's markets continue to show huge growth, with sales in the year to date running at over double (104.5 percent growth) the same period in 2009. Compared to last June, sales were up by a similar 97.4 percent. China saw stronger OE sales in June, giving strong impetus to the steady recovery so far this year, with OE sales up by 63.5 percent in the year to date, following a 32.6 percent improvement in the month of June.

Truck replacement tyres in June showed universal growth, as volumes increased around the world. European truck tyre markets grew by 28.7 percent in the first six months, and by 19.7 percent in June. North America grew by 21.7 percent in the year to June, with an increase of 15.9 percent in the year-on-year figure.

In Brazil, a year-on-year increase of 25.7 percent brought the six-month figure to a healthy 33.4 percent growth. The steady recovery in Japanese replacement truck tyre sales continued in June, up by 13.5 percent in the year to date and up by 11.3 percent in the month of June. China sales for the month grew by 12.7 percent in June, making sales in the first six months 11.7 percent higher than a year before.

The OE car business continues to grow from last year's poor figures. Michelin said the total European OE market for car tyres in the six months to June 2010 was up by 25.2 percent, while the year-on-year figure for June eased to an 8.9 percent increase. The North American market also grew strongly over a depressed market a year ago, with the equivalent figures showing an increase of 70.8 percent for the six-month period and a very healthy year-on-year increase in June of 82.4 percent.

China's OE demand was up by a massive 49.7 percent in the year to date and up by an healthy 15.8 percent in June.

In the replacement business, the steady growth in Europe continued. In June the six-month figures showed a growth of 9.8 percent matched by the one-month figure of 9.8 percent growth. In North America, the replacement market grew by 8.8 percent in the first six months, but an increase of just 0.8 percent in the most recent month may be a sign of a slow-down. Chinese replacement sales continued to grow, showing growth of 17.5 percent in the year to date helped by an increase of 22.8 percent in the most recent month.

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Press release from Michelin