2007 wasn’t a banner year for the tire and automotive industries. While the tire side saw a slight improvement against 2006, tire shipments and sales did not meet expectations as gas and consumer goods prices began eating into household budgets. Growing fuel prices in late 2007 started an erosion in miles traveled and vehicle sales.

Cost pressures and continuing restructuring among tiremakers caused marketshare shifts as well, making it yet
another interesting year to be a tire dealer – still the North American market leader in distribution.

But what will continuing, fully global market forces do to re-shape the tire industry?

The constantly changing landscape makes it difficult to pin down an accurate picture of the overall tire industry. To help steady the shifting target, we’ve compiled this Market Profile section – a collection of real-world data that, taken as a whole, can help you see emerging markets while they are still trends so you can better prepare your business for what lies ahead.

Click here for the 2008 Market Profile

Through painstaking research, we’ve been able to assemble this collection of data, which includes: tire brand marketshares in the tire dealer channel; tire shipments for passenger, light truck/SUV, medium truck, OTR and ag/forestry; a look at the OE and replacement segments of the high performance market; the most popular tire sizes at OE and replacement levels; brand and channel segmentation; new vehicle sales and vehicle registrations as well as miles driven by vehicle type.

It’s a dynamic and comprehensive look at a dynamic and fast-changing global industry.