U.S. replacement market demand for passenger, light and medium truck tires jumped measurably in February, pushing the year-to-date shipment totals comfortably ahead of the 2001 pace, according to data gathered by the Rubber Manufacturers Association.
Canadian tire replacement shipments also showed gains for the month, increasing 14.3 percent to slightly more than 1 million units, according to the Rubber Association of Canada.
U.S. aftermarket demand in February for passenger tires grew 7 percent to 14.1 million tires, with light truck tire shipments growing 10.8 percent to 2.4 million units and medium truck tire demand up 7.2 percent to 924,000 units. For the two-month period, aftermarket demand was up 8.2, 4.6 and 15.5 percent over 2001 for the three categories.
Original equipment shipments rose in February in the passenger and light truck categories-up 35.7 percent for light truck-but OE demand for medium and wide base truck tires continued to lag the 2001 pace, down 12.7 percent for the month.