U.S. end-of-life tires reaching end-use markets held steady at 79% in 2025, but that figure masks a significant shift in where the nation's scrap tires are going.

Domestic end-use utilization declined from 73% in 2023 to 61% in 2025, while exports surged 270%, according to the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association's (USTMA) latest report. The shift is prompting the association to examine whether growing overseas demand could affect the supply of scrap tire material available to U.S. recyclers.

USTMA released its biennial 2025 End-of-Life Tire Market Report on Oct. 27. The report found that approximately 273 million end-of-life tires were generated in the United States in 2025, with 79% reaching end-use markets, essentially unchanged from 2023.

"This report gives a picture of a market in transition," says Anne Forristall Luke, president and CEO of USTMA.

The report identifies rising exports, declines in traditional domestic markets and continued stockpile cleanup as major developments shaping the end-of-life tire industry.

Export growth raises domestic supply concerns

Exports represented the largest shift in the U.S. end-of-life tire market between 2023 and 2025, increasing from approximately 253,000 tons to 936,000 tons. The increase made exports the third-largest destination for U.S. end-of-life tires, behind tire-derived fuel and ground rubber.

Exports accounted for approximately 18 percentage points of the nation's 79% end-use utilization rate in 2025, compared with two to six percentage points in previous reporting periods dating back to 2017.

During an Oct. 27 webinar discussing the findings, John Sheerin, former senior director of end-of-life tire programs at USTMA who now serves as a consultant, said the increase raises questions about the long-term availability of scrap tire material for domestic processors.

"Other countries have seen export booms draw material away from their own recyclers, and we're working with our global partners to understand this growing U.S. trend," Sheerin said.

Growth was driven primarily by increased demand in India, along with continued tire-derived fuel exports to Asian markets, including Japan and South Korea. Sheerin said established markets in Japan and South Korea generally use imported tires for fuel in cement kilns, pulp and paper mills and utilities, while tires exported to India are primarily entering pyrolysis operations. He noted that some Indian pyrolysis facilities appear to comply with the country's environmental standards, while others may not, raising questions about how exported material is ultimately processed.

Sheerin encouraged exporters to verify that their tires are going to legitimate, environmentally sound end-use markets.

"We've been in discussions with Indian trade associations and experts to really understand the other side of where these tires are going," Sheerin said.

He added that USTMA is considering whether any actions may be needed to ensure the increase in exports does not negatively affect domestic scrap tire supply.

Amelia Chucholowski, associate director of sustainability and recycling policy at USTMA, said international demand demonstrates the value of scrap tire materials, but expanding domestic markets remains a priority.

Traditional domestic markets contract

While exports increased, several major domestic end-use markets reported declines.

Tire-derived fuel remained the largest domestic market, consuming approximately 1.32 million tons of end-of-life tires in 2025, down 14.8% from 2023. Cement kilns were the only tire-derived fuel submarket to grow during the period, increasing consumption approximately 5% to 821,000 tons and accounting for 62% of the tire-derived fuel market. Tire-derived fuel consumption by pulp and paper mills fell approximately 39%, largely due to plant closures. Utility boiler consumption declined approximately 22%, which USTMA attributed in part to regulatory changes in Michigan.

Ground rubber remained the second-largest domestic market, consuming approximately 1.2 million tons in 2025, down 10.3% from 2023. Reported declines occurred across major applications, including molded and extruded rubber products, loose-fill mulch, sports surfaces and rubber-modified asphalt.

Chucholowski cautioned during the webinar that some reported declines may reflect incomplete data rather than changes in market demand alone. She said relatively few states provide detailed reporting on individual ground rubber applications, making it difficult to distinguish actual market changes from gaps in measurement.

Tire-derived aggregate, which is used in civil engineering applications such as drainage systems and roadway embankments, declined 21.5% to approximately 207,000 tons — its lowest level since 2017.

USTMA also reported 56,000 tons of end-of-life tires processed through domestic pyrolysis operations in 2025. The process, which uses heat in a low-oxygen environment to recover oil, gas and carbon-rich material, was reported as a distinct domestic market for the first time.

Stockpile cleanup continues, state trends vary

Despite challenges in domestic end-use markets, USTMA reported continued progress in reducing illegal and abandoned tire stockpiles. Approximately 42.1 million tires remained stockpiled nationwide in 2025, down from approximately 48 million in 2023. That represents a 12% decline over two years and a 96% reduction from the estimated 1 billion tires stockpiled in 1990.

Colorado accounted for the largest reduction, decreasing its reported stockpile from more than 26 million tires to approximately 14 million. However, the other 49 states collectively reported an increase of approximately 6.2 million stockpiled tires during the same period.

Chucholowski noted that some reported increases reflect improved state tracking rather than necessarily indicating that additional tires accumulated.

New Jersey and Pennsylvania reported substantial reductions, while North Carolina, Tennessee and Delaware eliminated their remaining reported stockpiles.

The volume of end-of-life tires disposed of in landfills also declined approximately 11% to 779,000 tons.

Expanding domestic markets remains a priority

USTMA says strengthening domestic end-use markets will be essential to the long-term sustainability of the nation's scrap tire management system. The association identified rubber-modified asphalt, tire-derived aggregate and emerging recycling technologies as potential growth opportunities.

Chucholowski pointed to infrastructure investments in Kentucky, Michigan and California, along with advances in rubber-modified asphalt technology, as developments that could help expand domestic demand.

The Tire Recycling Foundation, a joint initiative of USTMA and the Tire Industry Association, is also funding environmental product declarations that provide verified lifecycle data for tire-derived materials, potentially helping those products meet purchasing requirements for infrastructure projects. USTMA expects some of these investments to produce measurable results over the next 12 to 24 months.

Sheerin emphasized that the next phase of the industry's development will depend on expanding markets rather than simply improving collection and stockpile cleanup. He also encouraged states to dedicate tire fee revenue to end-of-life tire programs, including market development grants, research and demonstration projects.

Domestic end-use markets are an important part of the scrap tire collection system for tire dealers. Dealers rely on haulers and processors to move discarded tires into legitimate end-use channels, making sustainable demand for those materials essential to the system's long-term stability.

The report covers passenger, light truck and medium/heavy truck and bus tires. It does not include off-the-road, agricultural or other specialty tire categories. The full report is available at USTMA's End-of-Life Tire Report page.