Tyre markets continued to plummet in February

ERJ staff report (DS)

Paris - Michelin has updated its website with tyre market data for the month of February. The new data indicates no sign of recovery after three months of huge declines. The figures show universal declines in demand, with the sole exception of China where domestic sales were up, reversing the trend of the previous two months.

In radial truck OE sales, every market in the world fell by about half in the month of February, with the exception of China, which grew slightly. Europe's sharp decline has continued. The year so far saw a dramatic 62 percent decrease in European sales with no sign of short term recovery. February's sales fell by 64.2 percent year on year, even worse than the disastrous 58.6 percent seen in January. The appalling decline in North American truck OE sales has continued, with sales in the first two months down by 45.8 percent, not helped by a fall in February of 45.9 percent.

The Brazilian market's sharp slowdown continued in February. The year to date showed a fall of 43.3 percent, with the February figures even worse at -57.3 percent. Japan was even worse, with sales in the year to date running 60.4 percent below the same period in 2008. February matched January with a decline of 60.8 percent on the same month a year ago Only China showed any hint of recovery, with sales up by 3.4 percent in the year to date and up by 2.8 percent in the month of February.

Truck replacement tyres in February showed a similar picture. European truck tyre markets fell by 32.7 percent in the first two months, not helped by a 33.1 percent decline in February. North America fell by 26.2 percent in the year to February, and 25.8 percent in the year-on-year figure. In Brazil, a year-on-year fall of 25.0 percent slowed the two-month figure fractionally, to a decline of 'just' 26.2 percent. Japanese truck tyre sales fell sharply in February, down by 42.9 percent in the year to date and by 54.9 percent in the month of February. Again, China alone showed modest growth, with 0.9 percent growth in the year to February, and 0.3 percent in the most recent month.

As has been recorded elsewhere, the OE car business continues to struggle, though the figures in February are not as bad as the January numbers. Michelin said the total European OE market for car tyres in the two months to February 2008 was down by 45.4 percent, while the year-on-year figure for February dropped by a massive 44.7 percent. The site gives only percentage changes, not absolute numbers. The North American market continued its downtrend, with the equivalent figures showing a decline of 58.2 percent for the two-month period and a year-on-year decrease in February of 53.6 percent.

China saw a decline, but not of anything like the same magnitude. OE demand in China was down by 3.7 percent in the year to date and by 1.3 percent in February

In the replacement business, the decline in Europe accelerated, as winter sales season ended. In February the two-month figures showed a fall of 9.3 percent while the one-month figure fell by 8.1 percent. In North America, the replacement market fell by 16.3 percent in the first two months, not helped by a decline in February of 15.1 percent.

Chinese replacement sales were a single bright spot, with the increase in the year to date running at 11.2 percent and the February increase even better, at 17.6 percent growth.