Global truck tyre markets still dire

ERJ staff report (DS)

Paris - Michelin has updated its website with tyre market data for the month of May. The May figures show further universal declines in demand, with the sole exception of China where car and truck tyre sales were up slightly 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 shraply down, but the rate of slow-down is decelerating. In the OE segment, every market in the world fell in the month of May and for the first five months, except China, which grew slightly last month. Europe's sharp decline has continued, and got worse. The year so far saw a dramatic 67.0 percent decrease in European sales with no sign of short term recovery. The site gives only percentage changes, not absolute numbers. May's sales fell by an appalling 72.9 percent year on year, a tiny improvement on the unprecedented 74.3 percent fall seen in April. The dreadful decline in North American truck OE sales has accelerated, with sales in the first five months down by 48.9 percent, not helped by a fall in May of 53.5 percent.

The Brazilian market's sharp slowdown continued in May. The year to date showed a fall of 30.3 percent, with the May figures down by 24.1 percent. Japan's situation seems to have reached bottom, with sales in the year to date running 65.3 percent below the same period in 2008. May's decline was the same, at 65.2 percent lower than the same month a year ago Only China showed any hint of recovery, with OE sales up by just 1.3 percent in the year to date, helped by a 2.6 percent increase in the month of May.

Truck replacement tyres in May showed a similar picture, though marginally less bad. European truck tyre markets fell by 32.6 percent in the first five months, eased slightly by a 23.2 percent decline in May. North America fell by 20.0 percent in the year to May, and 12.8 percent in the year-on-year figure. In Brazil, a year-on-year fall of 22.3 percent slowed the five-month figure fractionally, to a decline of 'just' 24.5 percent. The sharp decline in Japanese truck tyre sales eased somewhat in May, down by 36.8 percent in the year to date and by 17.4 percent in the month of May. China sales for the month were level, with a decline of just 1.0 percent in the year to May, helped by a 0.1 percent increase in the most recent month.

As has been recorded elsewhere, the OE car business continues to struggle, though the figures in May are not as bad as the April numbers. Michelin said the total European OE market for car tyres in the five months to May 2008 was down by 36.4 percent, while the year-on-year figure for May dropped by 28.2 percent. The North American market continued its downtrend, with the equivalent figures showing a decline of 50.1 percent for the five-month period and a year-on-year decrease in May of 52.4 percent.

Even China fell. OE demand in China was up by 14.3 percent in the year to date although down by 9.6 percent in May

In the replacement business, the decline in Europe continued unabated. In May the five-month figures showed a fall of 12.3 percent while the one-month figure fell by 15.1 percent. In North America, the replacement market fell by 11.9 percent in the first five months, not helped by a decline in May of 9.8 percent.

Chinese replacement sales were a rare bright spot, with the increase in the year to date running at 11.2 percent and the May figures up by just 2.0 percent , following 31 percent growth last month.