When Down Is Up: The Tire Industry is Returning to Pre-Pandemic Levels

There’s no question that for most of this year, demand for tires has been down versus 2022 levels. This is reflected in tire shipment projections, which recently have been dialed back from earlier-year forecasts.

In March 2023, the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) predicted that we’d end the year with around 334.2 million total tire shipments. Last month, the USTMA bumped that number down to 325.4 million units. By contrast, around 332 million units were shipped during 2022, according to the USTMA. …

… If you’re a pessimist, you could say this is a gloomy forecast. I think it’s a positive forecast — and let me tell you why. …

Source: MTD