Truck tyre sales show no sign of recovery -Michelin

ERJ staff report (DS)

Paris - Michelin has updated its website with tyre market data for the month of June. The June figures show further universal declines in demand, with the sole exception of China where car tyre sales roared ahead in both OE and replacement segments.

OE sales of radial truck tyres continue to be substantially down on last year, while replacement sales are still sharply down. In the OE segment, every market in the world fell in the month of June and for the first six months. China returned to a decline after a brief respite earlier in the year. Europe's sharp decline has continued, and got worse. The year so far saw a dramatic 67.4 percent decrease in European sales with no sign of short term recovery. The site gives only percentage changes, not absolute numbers. June's sales fell by an appalling 70.2 percent year on year, a tiny improvement on the unprecedented 72.9 percent fall seen in May. The dreadful decline in North American truck OE sales has continued, with sales in the first six months down by 47.8 percent, matched by a fall in June of 43.2 percent.

The Brazilian market's sharp slowdown continued in June. The year to date showed a fall of 30.1 percent, with the June figures down by 26.0 percent. Japan's situation is no better, with sales in the year to date running 64.2 percent below the same period in 2008. June's decline was almost as bad, at 59.2 percent lower than the same month a year ago. Even China reversed the small hint of recovery seen last month, with OE sales down by 5.6 percent in the year to date, hit by a 20.4 percent fall in the month of June.

Truck replacement tyres in June showed a similar picture, though marginally less bad. European truck tyre markets fell by 31.4 percent in the first six months, eased slightly by a 20.5 percent decline in June. North America fell by 18.2 percent in the year to June, and 10.6 percent in the year-on-year figure. In Brazil, a year-on-year fall of 10.9 percent slowed the six-month figure fractionally, to a decline of 'just' 22.1 percent. The sharp decline in Japanese truck tyre sales eased somewhat in June, down by 33.5 percent in the year to date and by 11.0 percent in the month of June. China sales for the month fell by 22.3 percent in June, bringing the decline in the first six months to 7.8 percent.

As has been recorded elsewhere, the OE car business continues to struggle, though the figures in June are not as bad as the May numbers. Michelin said the total European OE market for car tyres in the six months to June 2008 was down by 33.1 percent, while the year-on-year figure for June dropped by 16.5 percent. The North American market continued its downtrend, with the equivalent figures showing a decline of 51.0 percent for the six-month period and a year-on-year decrease in June of 55.0 percent.

China, however recovered sharply. OE demand in China was up by 26.5 percent in the year to date and up by 30.0 percent in June

In the replacement business, the decline in Europe continued unabated. In June the six-month figures showed a fall of 12.1 percent while the one-month figure fell by 9.5 percent. In North America, the replacement market fell by 10.7 percent in the first six months, eased somewhat by a decline in June of 5.3 percent.

Chinese replacement sales were a rare bright spot, with the increase in the year to date running at 13.8 percent and the June figures up by 21.6 percent.

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Press release from Michelin