Most people look at tire shipment figures, which are, in my humble view, not really indicative of the real market, just the production/shipping side of the ledger. Still, we’re looking at consumer tire shipments being down between 5% and 7% through the first half of the year.
Our Business Barometer feature each month shows a slightly different tale. Based on real retail activity – not shipments and certainly not attitudes – retail tire sales have been in a nosedive since January, save for brief respite in April when sales showed a year-to-year bounce of about 1%.
Some dealers are having decent years, others are struggling mightily. Anecdotal evidence strongly suggests the consumer tire market is off around 12% vs. 2007…and last year was NOT a great one.
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– Jim Smith
