The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) projects that 315.7 million total tires will ship in the United States this year versus 303.2 million units during 2020 and 332.7 million units shipped during the previous year.
Specifically, the USTMA expects that original equipment passenger tire shipments will increase by 10.7% in 2021 and that light truck tire shipments will grow 3.6% during the year.
Medium truck tire shipments are expected to enjoy a bigger increase (20%) during 2021, according to USTMA projections.
Combined, OE passenger, light truck and medium truck tire shipments will increases by 5.1 million units.
In the replacement channel, the USTMA expects that passenger tire shipments will grow by 3.5%. Medium truck tire shipments are expected to increase 2.9%.
Light truck replacement tire shipments will show "a minor decline at 0.4%. The total unit addition for replacement shipments is projected to be 7.4 million units."
