ETRMA Q3 report spotlights passenger and light truck tire gains, truck/bus plateaus | Rubber News

BRUSSELS—European drivers are continuing to make the switch to all-season tires, according to the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers Association, which recently released its quarterly sales report.

The ETRMA said during the quarter, replacement sales for all tire segments rose from 2023, but the association said that mostly was because the third quarter of last year was weak for the tire industry.

"Starting from a low base, the evolution of volumes in the first three quarters of 2024 is improving in the consumer segment, mainly thanks to all-season tires," ETRMA Secretary General Adam McCarthy said in a statement. "… In both the consumer and truck segments, we are still far from pre-pandemic volumes: respectively down 6 percent and 11 percent versus (year to date) September 2019."

Overall, the passenger and light truck replacement tire segment saw solid gains during this year's third quarter. ETRMA member companies reported P/LT tire sales of around 57.9 million units during the three-month period, marking a 5-percent increase from the third quarter of 2023.

And the strength of the segment was the sale of those all-season tires, which saw year-over-year growth of 13 percent.

Summer tire sales were relatively flat comparatively, rising 2 percent over Q3 2023. Meanwhile, winter tire sales were flat year-over-year.

For the nine months of 2024, aftermarket P/LT units sold by ETRMA member companies came in at 166.7 million units, up 3 percent from the 2023 period.

During the nine month period, summer tire sales were down by 3 percent year over year, while winter tire sales rose by 2 percent. All-season tire sales grew by 15 percent year over year.

These results came as P/LT imports increased.

According to ETRMA, the first eight months of the year saw a 10 percent increase in imports compared to the same period a year earlier. This also marks an 18 percent increase over the pre-pandemic numbers of the first eight months in 2019.

For the same period, imports from China have risen at the fastest pace—11 percent year-over-year and 40 percent compared to 2019.

Replacement truck/bus tire sales increase 2 percent over Q3 2023, coming in at 3.11 million units.

For the first nine months, truck/bus unit sales came in at 8.41 million, down 2 percent from the year-ago period.

For the first eight months of 2024, imports of truck/bus tires have fallen, according to the ETRMA, coming in 5 percent lower than the same period a year earlier. However, TBR imports are up 11 percent compared to the first eight months of 2019.

Agricultural tires saw modest gains with 161,000 units sold during the third quarter of 2024, up about 8,000—or 5 percent—year over year. For the nine months, the 563,000 units sold marked a 3-percent year-over-year increase.

Motorcycle and scooter tire sales grew by 13 percent year over year, coming in at 1.85 million for the quarter. For the nine month period, the 7.88 million units sold was a 3-percent year-over-year increase.

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