All-weather tire segment expands U.S. market share

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Winter tires are a small fraction of the replacement market in the U.S., where southern states rarely grapple with cold. And in northern regions, where the season brings frigid temps, ice and snow, winter tires are being supplanted by all-weather products.

Buffalo-based Exxpress Tire Delivery distributes to nearly 4,000 locations throughout western Pennsylvania and New York, from Erie to Pittsburgh and down the New York State Thruway to Albany.

Winters near Lake Erie and Lake Ontario are serious. According to USA Today, Syracuse, N.Y., is the snowiest big city in the country, averaging 11 feet of snowfall per year. To the west, Rochester and Buffalo average 9 feet of snow annually.

But winter weather hasn't been translating to growing demand for winter tires. In fact, winter tire sales for passenger vehicles and smaller CUVs with 17-inch rims are half of what they were in 2019, according to Paul Pittner, Exxpress Tire vice president.

"It's been weak, very weak," Pittner said.

He has a few ideas as to why. One is the cost and inconvenience of winter tires, which must be removed and stored in the spring. Then there's the post-COVID trend of people not leaving the house when the weather is bad.

But all-weather tires are a big part of the story.

Winter tires have tread patterns designed to grip the road whether it's covered in snow, ice or slush, and are marked with the three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMS) symbol, meaning they meet traction standards set by the American Society for Testing and Materials.

Some winter tires are studded, but all are designed to stay soft and maintain grip when the temperature drops below 45 degrees F, which is why they need to be swapped for summer or all-season tires when the weather warms, industry pundits said.

In 2023, winter tire shipments in the U.S. were just above 3 million units, or about 1.9% of all replacement market shipments, down from 3.9 million units in 2022, or 2.5%, according to U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) data.

All-weather tires also sport the 3PMS mark, but they can be used throughout the year, unlike winter tires, and they're becoming more popular.

In 2023, dealers sold 10 million all-weather tires in the U.S. — 19% more than in 2022, according to the USTMA.

Exxpress Tire has experienced the all-weather growth trend firsthand.

Without giving specific numbers, from the first week of October to early February, sales of winter tires and all-weather tires were a 50-50 split, compared with four years ago when all-weather tires accounted for about 8% of sales, Pittner said.

"If you get an all-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive vehicle, you can get through pretty much anything that you need to with these; they've worked out very well," Pittner said. "The technology is good, and people are accepting them more and more."

Auburn, Maine-based VIP Tires & Service has more than 70 stores in the Northeast, from Madawaska at Maine's northern tip, to Waterbury, Conn., in the south; and from Burlington, Vt., on Lake Champlain to Boston on the Atlantic coast.

The geography brings a range of winter conditions. Studded tires are common in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, while more drivers are opting for all-weather tires in Connecticut and Massachusetts, where winters are less severe, according to Erik Jandreau, VIP director of merchandising and logistics.

Unlike Exxpress Tire, VIP Tires is seeing all-weather tires cut into its all-season market, rather than winter tire sales, he said.

"And a lot of that is because of our geography, the winter tire still is the best option to use in a winter climate," Jandreau said.

Another factor in winter tire sales is the timing of winter weather. In New England, the snow has started flying later in the season.

"Last winter, as an example, we really didn't get snow here until, like, January, February," Jandreau said. "So, people, I think, are looking at that going, 'Hey, I think I could probably hold out this year. I think I can get by with my all seasons.'"

Pittner agreed. Occasionally western New York will get wicked storms in October and November, but most of the snow falls in January and February, weeks after the mid-December drop in winter tire sales.

"For whatever reason, people think if they got that far, they're going to get through the rest of winter," Pittner said.

Price is another big factor for consumers to weigh when buying winter tires. When a person is trying to buy groceries for a family and pay the utility bills, tires are "a grudge purchase," Pittner said.

"There are very few people that get excited in the morning and say, 'God, I'm going to go get new tires today,' so you wait till the bitter end, when you slide off the road or whatever, and then it's not a happy purchase," he said.

Without revealing the brands, Pittner said the best-selling winter tire for Exxpress Tire was its least expensive; its No. 2 winter tire was a well-known, major brand.

"People don't want to spend a lot of money on them," Pittner continued. "You look at the price of some of these tires now, on some of the smaller vehicles, they're astronomical, so they're going to take the cheapest way out. Some of these inexpensive tires are not that bad, either. I think the quality of those has come up dramatically over the last number of years, but that's where the trend is going, and I don't see it stopping for a while."

Jandreau said many of VIP Tires' customers are price conscious when it comes to winter tires, too.

While the Goodyear Winter Command, Michelin X-Ice and Bridgestone Blizzak are very popular, in the coming fall, VIP Tires will begin carrying Tireco Inc.'s Milestar-branded Winter Guard tire exclusively in New England.

"It's going to be an awesome addition to our new Milestar lineup," Jandreau said.