Half of dealers expect to sell more tires

March 24, 2015

Half of dealers expect tire sales to improve in the next six months, according to industry analyst Nick Mitchell, senior vice president research for Northcoast Research in Cleveland, Ohio, and author of Modern Tire Dealer’s Your Marketplace column.  

The other half expects sales to remain level.

Truck tire dealers likewise are evenly split, with 50% seeing business improving and 50% believing it will stay level. None of the respondents to Modern Tire Dealer’s exclusive “Your Marketplace” survey feel business levels will drop.

All respondents said manufacturer pricing on value and branded tires increased in January 2015. Mitchell attributes the increase to the U.S. government’s tariffs on passenger and light truck tires imported from China.

Service sales rose 3% in December 2014 but January’s service sales were flat on a year-over-year basis in January. Service sales account for 29% of the survey respondents’ total revenues.

For details on what dealers told Mitchell, see “Reacting to tariffs, manufacturers increase pricing on value tires” online and on page 22 of the digital and print edition of the March issue of MTD.