AKRON (March 22, 2001)—Goodyear said tire price increases it enacted Jan. 1 are sticking, even though its unit sales are off in the aftermarket, as well as to original equipment customers.
In a monthly report to investors, the company said its decline in replacement sales reflected the 5-percent falloff in the overall tire industry shipments for consumer tires, and 17-percent drop in commercial tires. Goodyear-brand aftermarket sales outperformed the market, the firm said.
Original equipment shipments of consumer tires fell 20 percent and 44 percent for the commercial tires for the industry in February from a year earlier, and Goodyear said its unit sales "were in line with industry shipments."