The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association expects total tire shipments in 2021 to exceed pre-pandemic levels, according to the group’s latest estimates.
The USTMA projects total tire shipments will reach 336.1 million units this year — up from the 315.7 million units the USTMA estimated in March. That’s a 6.5% improvement. The total beats the 332.7 million units shipped in 2019.
The improvement compared to the USTMA’s March projections is due to notably stronger numbers in the replacement tire category. The passenger, light truck and medium truck tire shipments are all expected to be higher.
Here’s how the numbers break down for original equipment and replacement tire shipments, with comparisons to 2020 and 2019 totals.
| 2021 Forecast | 2020 | 2019 | |
| Original equipment | |||
| Passenger | 40.9 | 37.2 | 46.3 |
| Light truck | 5.7 | 5.4 | 5.9 |
| Truck | 5.9 | 4.7 | 6.5 |
| Total O.E. | 52.5 | 47.3 | 58.7 |
| Replacement | |||
| Passenger | 224.4 | 203.8 | 222.6 |
| Light truck | 37.3 | 32.9 | 32.5 |
| Truck | 21.9 | 19.2 | 18.9 |
| Total Replacement | 283.6 | 255.9 | 274 |
| Total Shipments | 336.1 | 303.2 | 332.7 |
*All shipments are in millions. Figures are rounded.
