Light truck tire shipments will carry the day this year, according to the latest forecast from the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA).
“The light truck tire segment is expecting solid growth in both original equipment and replacement tire shipments,” says the RMA. They break out as follows, with the percent change based on the numbers provided:
Estimated 2016 tire shipments in the U.S. (in millions of units)
LT shipments 2015 2016 % change
Replacement 29.1 30.8 5.8%
Original equipment 4.4 4.8 9.1%
Total 33.5 35.6 6.2%
* Passenger tires: Replacement shipments (205 million) are projected to decrease by 0.5%, while OE shipments (49.8 million) are expected to see only a very slight increase.
* Truck tires: Replacement shipments (18.5 million) are projected to increase by 3.3%, while OE shipments (5.3 million) are expected to decrease by 14.5%. Total truck tire shipments are expected to decrease by 1.2%.
The RMA says total U.S. tire shipments are projected to grow slightly, from 313.5 million units to 314.1 million units, or 0.2%.
