New data from the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) shows that only 3% of its members’ passenger tires were shipped to company-owned stores in 2025.
Three percent of USTMA member-made light truck tires also were shipped to tire manufacturer-owned stores last year.
Two tire manufacturers in the United States operate company-owned retail tire stores. Bridgestone Americas Inc. has 2,240 outlets throughout the U.S., while Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has 494 company-owned retail tire stores in the U.S., according to MTD’s 2026 Facts Issue.
Forty-one-percent of passenger tires manufactured by USTMA members were shipped through what USTMA calls “the national dealer” channel, while 19% were shipped to “local dealers” and 17% were shipped to what USTMA classifies as “regional dealers.” Eleven percent of passenger tires built by USTMA members were shipped to “general merchandise” outlets and 8% were shipped to “others.”
On the light truck tire side, 46% of USTMA member-produced units were sold through “national dealers,” 26% were sold through “local dealers” and 20% were shipped through “regional dealers.” Two percent of light truck tires built by USTMA members were shipped through the “general merchandise” channel, while 3% were shipped through “others.”
According to MTD’s recently published 2026 Facts Issue, tire company-owned stores accounted for 5.5% of total passenger and light truck tire sales in the replacement channel during 2025. Independent tire dealerships sold 67% of replacement PLT tires in the U.S.. Auto dealerships accounted for 9.5% of all consumer tire replacement channel sales in the U.S. Mass merchandisers sold 8.5% of all replacement consumer tires in the U.S., while the warehouse club segment accounted for 8.5%, leaving miscellaneous outlets to move the remaining 1% of replacement PLT tires in the U.S..
Click here to view MTD’s 2026 Facts Issue.
About the Author
Mike Manges
Editor
Mike Manges is Modern Tire Dealer’s editor. A 28-year tire industry veteran, he is a three-time International Automotive Media Association Award winner, holds a Gold Award from the Association of Automotive Publication Editors and was named a finalist for the prestigious Jesse H. Neal Award, the Pulitzer Prize of business-to-business media, in 2024. He also was named Endeavor Business Media's Editor of the Year in 2024. Mike has traveled the world in pursuit of stories that will help independent tire dealers move their businesses forward. Before rejoining MTD in 2019, he held corporate communications positions at two Fortune 500 companies and served as MTD’s senior editor from 2000 to 2010.
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