U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) projects 2019 U.S. tire shipments will decrease to 327 million units compared to 329.4 million units in 2018.
Original equipment (OE) passenger tire shipments are expected to decrease by 0.6 million units, while passenger tire replacement shipments are projected to decrease by 0.6 million units compared to a historically strong 2018. Original equipment and replacement light truck tire shipments are expected to increase while decreases are projected for original equipment and replacement truck tire shipments.
Due to the U.S. Government shutdown and delayed release of December trade data, the 2018 data is preliminary. This forecast was completed after the announcement of the antidumping and countervailing duties for Chinese truck tires and was incorporated into the forecast.
