Michelin’s May Tire Data Show Declines in all Markets Outside China

Michelin has released its May 2009 and year-to-date figures for tire sales, revealing continued steep declines in the tire markets of North America, Europe, Brazil, and Japan. The Chinese market remains an exception, with both passenger and truck tires sales generally up.

In original equipment passenger car and light truck tire markets, European sales were down 28.2% in May (relative to May 2008), while North American sales were down 52.4%, and Chinese sales were down 9.6%. In replacement PC/LT tires, European sales were down 15.1% in May, North American sales were down 9.8%, and Chinese sales were up 2.0%.

In original equipment radial truck tires, very steep declines were registered in May in Europe (-72.9%, compared to May 2008), North America (-53.5%), Brazil (-24.1%), and Japan (-65.2%), while China saw growth of 2.6%. Replacement radial truck tire sales for May were also down nearly across the board, including Europe (-23.3%), North America (-12.8%), Brazil (-22.3%), and Japan (-17.4%), while China saw essentially flat growth of 0.1%.

Again, with the exception of China, year-to-date figures were down across the board. In China, PC/LT tires saw double digit YTD growth (January through May) in both OEM and replacement markets. Chinese truck tire markets saw weaker YTD growth, with OEM sales up 1.3% but replacement sales down 1.0%.

Details are here.