Japanese tyre markets dip in July

ERJ staff report (DS)

Milan, Italy -- Pirelli has updated its website with tyre sales in Asia for the month of July and the first seven months of 2011. Passenger tyre volumes in Japan were down, after three months of poor performance after the March earthquake there.

The company reports only percentage changes, not absolute numbers.

On the truck side, Pirelli said 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 July, In OE, growth of 3 percent in the month of July showed the first signs of post-Tsunami recovery, as the market in the year to date has declined by 16 percent.

In cars, OE sales are down by 10 percent in the month of July, better than the total 27 percent decline in the year to date. On the replacement side, the market declined by 3 percent in the month of July, but sale sin the year to date are up by 13 percent on the previous year.

In China replacement truck tyre sales in the first seven months were down by 6 percent, while OE sales in the month of July were down by 14 percent, but OE sales were down by just 0.1 percent in the year to date.

China also saw steady growth in passenger car tyre sales, with sales in the year to date up by 14 percent while OE sales were ahead by 4 percent in the first seven months and by 3 percent in hte month of July.

Pirelli did not update the numbers reported a few days ago. At that time, Pirelli said European truck tyre replacement sales increased by 11 percent in the first seven months, but the July figure was a decrease of 2 percent compared with a year ago. OE figures continued to show strong growth, recording an increase of 54 percent in the year to date and 35 percent in July.

OE truck tyre sales in the NAFTA region also maintained their recovery, increasing by 56 percent in the year to date, and by 40 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 seven months but sales weredown by 10 percent in the month of July. Sales data for the Mercosur region showed OE sales up by 4 percent in the first seven months, and 10 percent growth in the month of July. On the replacement side, growth in the year to date was also 4 percent, but that reversed in July with a decline of 12 percent.

In Asia, the data was incomplete, but replacement truck tyre sales in China in the first seven months was down by 6 percent, while OE sales in the month of July were down by 14 percent.

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 July, showing a continued post-tsunami recovery.

In the car and light truck segment, European OE sales data was not available, but replacement sales were up by 5 percent in the year to date and up by 6 precent in July.

North American (NAFTA) sales of car and light truck tyres showed a mixed trend. On the replacement side, sales in the seven months were down by 1 percent, pulled down by a decline of 10 percent in July. OE figures were positive, with sales in the year to date up by 8 percent and in July up by 7 percent. In the Mercosur region, OE sales were up by 8 percent in the first seven months with an increase of 7 percent in the month of July. Replacement sales were again weak, with the year so far down by 2 percent on the same period in 2010, and down by 1 percent in the month of July.

Sales data from Chinashowed a 14 percent decline in replacement saes in the year to date. OE sales in CHina were better, showing a 4 percent increase in the year to date and a 3 percent growth in the most recent month. Japanese sales of replacement tyres fell by 15 percent in the first seven months and declined by 3 percent in the month of July.

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Market data from Pirelli