Tire imports outpacing market growth in U.S.

WASHINGTON — Imports of tires into the U.S. continued to grow unabated in the first three months of 2022, even as the latest industry demand forecast calls for only slight aftermarket growth this year versus 2021.

Imports of passenger tires in the first quarter — led by double-digit growth from six Asian nations — jumped 13.1% over the corresponding 2021 period to 40.4 million units, according to the latest Census Bureau data.

The top three nations in this category — Thailand, Mexico and Indonesia — account for nearly half of the imports in this category. Shipments from Japan grew 40.5%, recovering some of the ground lost during the COVID pandemic, when a significant share of capacity there was idled.

By contrast, the overall replacement market for passenger tires is expected to grow by just 0.9% this year, to 226.8 million units, according to the most recent U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) forecast.

The impact of the U.S. decision to impose elevated import duties on passenger tires from Taiwan continued. Shipments of passenger tires from Taiwan dropped 50.7% in the period to 660,707 units; by contrast, shipments of light truck tires nearly doubled, to 163,225 units, although this figure is still below pre-pandemic levels.

Worth noting: Chile, Malaysia and the Philippines are now among the 10 largest sources of imported tires, and each essentially represents a single manufacturer — Goodyear in Chile, Toyo Tire Corp. in Malaysia and Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. in the Philippines.

Imports of light truck and medium truck/bus tires grew 8.3% and 9.6%, respectively, to 8.81 million and 4.72 million units, with Thailand and Vietnam the Nos. 1 and 2 in both categories, the data show.

The light truck tire category shows a distinct shift to supply from Asia, with shipments from Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines up 35.8%, 35.6% and 42%, respectively. By contrast, shipments from Canada and Mexico dropped by 7.1% and 10.1%, respectively.

For perspective, the USTMA is projecting U.S. aftermarket light truck tire shipments will dip 0.3% (100,000 units) this year to 38.5 million units.

In the medium truck/bus tire sector, imports from category leader Thailand jumped 37% to more than 2 million units, or 43% of all imports, and India is now firmly ensconced among the leaders after 33.9% growth in the period.

The USTMA is forecasting 1% growth this year in replacement market medium truck/bus tires (200,000 units) to 23.1 million units.

The import data also can be seen as a barometer for pricing. According to the data, the average value of a passenger tire imported into the U.S. in the first quarter of 2022 was $51.58, up 5.8% from the same period a year ago.

The average prices of a light truck and medium truck/bus tire were $74.41 and $166.88, up 2.8% and 6.9%, respectively, from a year ago.