Tyre sales on positive trend at last

ERJ staff report (DS)

Paris - Michelin has updated its website with tyre market data for the month of October. The latest figures appear to show a patchy recovery in demand, though this reflects the sharp decline in demand seen in October 2008, rather than any significant recovery. In particular, replacement truck tyre sales in October were higher than the same month last year in most parts of the world.

In the OE truck tyre segment, every market in the world including China fell in the month of October and for the first ten months. Chinese sales fell, despite earlier signs of a sporadic recovery. Europe's sharp decline has continued. The site gives only percentage changes, not absolute numbers.

The year so far saw a sustained 66.3 percent decrease in European sales with no sign of short term recovery. October's sales fell by 60.5 percent year on year. The dreadful decline in North American truck OE sales eased somewhat, with sales in the first ten months down by 42.2 percent, though the fall in October was lower, at 23.6 percent.

The Brazilian market's sharp slowdown continued in October. The year to date showed a fall of 29.3 percent, with the October figures down by 18 percent. Japan's situation is no better, with sales in the year to date running 55.5 percent below the same period in 2008. October's decline was not so bad, at 23.5 percent lower than the same month a year ago. China saw weaker OE sales in October, continuing the stop-start recovery pattern, with OE sales down by just 3.1 percent in the year to date, following a 12.1 percent decline in the month of October.

Truck replacement tyres in October showed a very different picture, as volumes increased around the world. European truck tyre markets fell by 22.8 percent in the first ten months, eased slightly by a 0.4 percent increase in October. North America fell by 14.1 percent in the year to October, again eased slightly by a decline of just 3.1 percent in the year-on-year figure.

In Brazil, a year-on-year increase of 16.8 percent slowed the ten-month figure to a decline of 18.5 percent. The sharp decline in Japanese replacement truck tyre sales reversed in October, down by 27.6 percent in the year to date and up by 12.7 percent in the month of October. China sales for the month grew by 12.1 percent in October, reversing the decline seen up to now and making sales in the first ten months to just 0.5 percent higher than a year before.

As has been recorded elsewhere, the OE car business is recovering slowly, and the figures in October are a significant improvement on the September numbers, though the year-to-date figures are still dismal. Michelin said the total European OE market for car tyres in the ten months to October 2008 was down by 26.3 percent, while the year-on-year figure for October dropped by just 0.9 percent. The North American market continued its downtrend, but at a much slower pace, with the equivalent figures showing a decline of 38.0 percent for the ten-month period and a year-on-year decrease in October of 8.4 percent.

China, however recovered sharply. OE demand in China was up by a massive 52.7 percent in the year to date and up by an incredible 75.2 percent in October, following a dismal month of October 2008.

In the replacement business, the decline in Europe reversed. In October the ten-month figures showed a fall of 7.7 percent while the one-month figure grew by 6.4 percent: the first growth for many months. In North America, the replacement market fell by 4.3 percent in the first ten months, eased once more by the fourth consecutive month of growth - a strong increase of 6.9 percent in the most recent month. Chinese replacement sales continued to grow, showing growth of 14.4 percent in the year to date and 11.4 percent in the most recent month.

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Press release from Michelin