The North American retreading market is expected to grow, but only marginally, through 2025.

The market is forecasted to grow from 14.5 million units in 2016 to 15.5 million in 2025, according to a report from Research and Markets.

While tread life is expected to improve, the report says one risk factor in the industry is quality improvements in Chinese tires. Other factors in the market include the high supply of casings, increasing labor costs and a shortage of skilled technicians.

The report also found that import tariffs on new tires may again be considered if there’s evidence that low cost tires, many coming from Asian markets, hurt the current tire market. For example, new Chinese tires, on average, are half the cost of premium new tires.

Without tariffs, retread tires will continue to be undercut by new low-cost tires. Cost competitiveness for retread tires will be vital in the long-term, the report says.

However, retread tires outperform new Chinese tires in terms of cost per mile at any price point with Tier-I tires showing the greatest return on investment.

Another factor of a healthy future retread market is that the average price for a tire replacement is expected to slightly increase.