Passenger, LT tire imports cool in Q3 while TBR grows

AKRON — The pace of importing passenger and light truck tires into the U.S. cooled off considerably in the third quarter, but imports of medium truck/bus tires ramped up and are headed for another record year.

According to latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau, imports of passenger and light truck tires rose 2.3% and 4.5%, respectively, during the July-September timeframe, measurably below the pace of importing in the first or second quarters this year.

By contrast, imports of truck/bus tires jumped 58.1% over the 2021 period, reflecting the continuing health of the trucking/delivery sector and static domestic sourcing on such products.

Through the first nine months of the year, however, the pace of importing is still comfortably ahead of the 2021 pace and should result in record numbers for all three of the key categories.

Passenger, light truck and medium truck/bus tire imports in January-September were up 10.3%, 9.6% and 38.1%, respectively, over 2021, Tire Business' analysis of the data shows.

Thailand continues to be No. 1 among the countries of origin for all three of the categories, although the rate of passenger and light truck tire shipments from Thailand fell by double digits in the quarter versus 2021. Shipments of truck/bus tires from Thailand, on the other hand, jumped 75% over 2021 and are on pace to exceed 10 million units.

With the exception of three nations — South Korea, Chile and the Philippines — imports from the major trading nations either fell or were up only marginally in the third quarter.

The slowing rate of shipments from offshore sources coincides with the latest industrywide shipment forecast from the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA), which projects shipments of passenger and light truck tires will fall short of the 2021 totals by 3.4% and 2.4%, respectively.

Despite the slowing growth in the quarter, imports of car tires were up double-digits over 2021 through the first nine months at 10.6% and just shy of double-digits, 9.6%, for light truck tires.

Year-to-date truck/bus tire imports were up 38.1% through September and are on pace to hit or exceed 24 million units this year.

U.S. truck/bus tire production, by contrast, stood at 13.5 million units in 2021, according to USTMA data, and overall replacement truck tire shipments are expected to be up 15.3% this year over 2021 at 26.4 million units. OE truck tire shipments are projected to be up 9.1% to 6.4 million units.

Thailand remains the No. 1 source of imported passenger, light truck and medium truck/bus tires, although its status atop the light truck category is being challenged by Vietnam. Shipments from that Southeast Asian nation were up 24.6% in the quarter while those from Thailand fell 27.3%, leaving Vietnam's total for the three-month period just 53,000 units shy of Thailand's.

Thailand's status as No. 1 is most secure in the truck/bus tire category, where it accounted for 43% of all shipments for the January-September period and continues to outpace the industrywide growth rate (48% versus 38%) for the year-to-date.

The average declared import value (roughly equal to a wholesale price) of an imported passenger tire increased to $58.51 in the quarter and $54.73 for the first nine months of the year.

Among the leading exporting nations to the U.S., the average value ranges from $36.91 (Vietnam) to $74.24 (Mexico).

For light truck tires, the values are $79.40 for the quarter and $76.84 for the January-September period; and for medium truck tires, the values are $172.22 and $168.45.