Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s North American Tire business unit had a rough May.
Both the company's replacement retail and commercial tire shipments were down compared to the same period last year. They also were below industry shipments, which also were down.
In its monthly performance update, Goodyear released the following information:
* Retail replacement tire shipments were down 4% compared to last year's levels.
* Commercial replacement tire shipments were down 3% compared to May 2001.
* Goodyear's original equipment unit shipments were better than the industry for consumer tires but below the industry for commercial
tires. (Industrywide, OE passenger and light truck tire shipments were up almost 1% from a year ago; OE commercial tire shipments were up 14%.)
Goodyear said shipments to its large wholesalers continued to improve in
May, although volumes "are still not back to last year's levels, resulting
in a less-favorable brand and product mix for replacement tires."