USTMA revises the forecast for the supply of tires to the US market

The United States Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) has revised up its 2020 tire market forecast for the second time in four months, reflecting "the resilience of the industry in the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic."

However, according to the association, even the revised shipments, which will reach 298.3 million tires, will be 10.3% lower than in 2019, when it came to 332.7 million tires. Compared to the July forecast, the new one implies an increase in shipments of about 19 million tires per year.

The association, which includes 13 tire manufacturers, predicts improvements in all tire categories. The most significant improvement will come from the supply of light truck tires, which analysts expect to grow by 11.5% over the previous forecast. Thus, the supply of light truck tires in the replacement segment will reach 32 million units in a year, which is still 1.8% below the level of 2019.

Deliveries of replacement passenger car tires will reach 188.7 million units - almost 7% higher than the July forecast and 9.5% lower than last year. The delivery of replacement truck tires for the year will amount to 18.5 million units, which is 2.8% higher than the previous forecast and 2.1% lower than the 2019 level.

In the OE segment, USTMA expects car tire shipments for the year to reach 36.8 million, down 20.4% from last year. Deliveries of light truck tires will reach 4.8 million units, which is 18% lower than the results of 2019, while deliveries of truck tires will decrease by 29%, to 4.5 million units.

In addition, the first three quarters of 2020 saw a significant decline in imports in almost all categories, according to the US Department of Commerce. Imports of passenger tires to the country fell by 16.3%, to 96.5 million units, imports of light truck tires decreased over the period by 3.6%, to 19.1 million units, and imports of truck tires fell by 16.8%. up to 9.18 million pieces.