Tire wholesalers are the optimistic leaders of the industry, according to Modern Tire Dealer’s latest exclusive State of the Industry survey. Wholesalers are holding higher expectations of tire sales for the remainder of 2015 than their customers — tire retailers.
The MTD survey at the end of nine months shows significant differences in responses between wholesalers and retailers. The results include the input from 220 retailers and 58 wholesalers.
Here’s a snapshot of the survey:
Projection of full year 2015 tire sales (in units)
| Sales will be up (3Q) | Sales will be down (3Q) | Sales will be even (3Q) | |
| Retailers | 46% | 28.8% | 25.2% |
| Wholesalers | 63% | 18.5% | 18.5% |
Projection of full year 2015 tire sales (in dollars)
| Sales will be up (3Q) | Sales will be down (3Q) | Sales will be even (3Q) | |
| Retailers | 47.8% | 33.3% | 18.9% |
| Wholesalers | 59.3% | 25.9% | 14.8% |
When looking at retailers only, the optimism has fallen steadily throughout the year, but the biggest drop came at the mid-year point.
Retailers' projection of tire sales (in units)
| Sales will be up | Sales will be down | Sales will be even | |
| 1Q | 62.9% | 21.4% | 15.7% |
| 1H | 48.9% | 31.5% | 19.6% |
| 3Q | 46% | 28.8% | 25.2% |
Retailers' projection of tire sales (in dollars)
| Sales will be up | Sales will be down | Sales will be even | |
| 1Q | 60.9% | 26.1% | 13% |
| 1H | 54.3% | 32.6% | 13.1% |
| 3Q | 47.8% | 33.3% | 18.9% |
So, how does your dealership compare? Is 2015 shaping up to be a good year? Are unit sales up? What about dollar sales? Share your story by submitting a comment.
