Business in the first six months was up, at least according to about 50% of the independent tire dealers who responded to Modern Tire Dealer's exclusive First Half 2014 State-of-the-Industry Survey.
Publisher Greg Smith says the report shows continued signs of improvement among both retailers and wholesalers in terms of both units and dollar sales during the first half of 2014 compared to the first half of 2013.
"Like the overall economy, however, we’re not in a position to gleefully say the worst is behind us and let’s have a party. Simply put, although better and improving, both retailers and wholesalers appear to be telling us that they are cautiously optimistic."
How were your tire sales in units for the first half?
Retailers
* 45.9% reported unit sales were up by an average of 12%.
* 27.5% reported unit sales were down by an average of 13%.
* 26.6% reported unit sales were even.
Wholesalers
* 51.6% reported unit sales were up by an average of 16%.
* 25.8% reported unit sales were down by an average of 9%.
* 22.6% reported unit sales were even.
When asked, "How were your tire sales in dollars for the first half?" 49.5% of the retailers said they were up by an average of 12%, while 50% of the wholesalers were up by an average of 9%.
When asked about their profitability projections for the full year, retailers see things better than wholesalers do.
