Softer Global Truck Tire Demand Drags on Michelin Q1 Sales
The Michelin booth at an industry show. Michelin said its global truck tire sales revenue fell 6% year-over-year in the first quarter. (John Sommers II for Transport Topics)
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Michelin posted a 4.1% year-over-year decrease in tire sales in the first quarter of 2024, citing softer overall demand in the truck and specialty tire segments.
French tire maker Michelin, which does not provide figures to accompany the percentage change, said April 24 that its truck tire volume sales fell 5.8% year-over-year globally in Q1.
Also, Michelin’s global truck tire sales revenue fell 6% in the most recent three-month period to $1.71 billion from $1.82 billion in the year-ago period. Michelin reports in euros, and the exchange rates were correct as of April 24.
Michelin’s global passenger car and light truck tire sales fell 1.1%, while its revenue from these operations fell 2.4% year-over-year to $3.61 billion from $3.70 billion.
In North and Central America, original equipment truck tire sales volumes fell 16% year-on-year in Q1, the company said, citing “particularly unfavorable comparatives.”
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Original equipment tire demand in the United States slipped following the introduction of emissions regulations that Michelin said spurred a wave of early buying throughout 2023.
Michelin’s original equipment truck tire sales globally, outside of China, fell 7% year-over-year.
Truck tire replacement sales in North and Central America in the first three months of 2024 rose 18% year-over-year, propelled by a stockpiling of Asian imports ahead of an increase in antidumping duties expected in the first half of 2024.
Globally, replacement truck tire sales rose 4% year-over-year in Q1.
Michelin North America is headquartered in Greenville, S.C. Michelin produces truck tires at its Asheboro, N.C., and Spartanburg, S.C., plants while producing treads for retreads in Covington, Ga.
Chapot
The company plans to cut its truck tire production capacity by 15% globally, with reductions at plants in Poland and China that will now produce tires for passenger cars, Michelin General Manager Yves Chapot said during the company’s earnings call.
Looking forward, the company expects truck tire sales in 2024 to range between a decrease of 2% and an increase of 2%.
Original equipment truck tire demand in North America is set to fall due to the GHG regulations that boosted 2023 sales, it added.
The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association said in March that truck tire sales in 2024 were expected to total 28 million units, an increase of 1 million tires or 3.7%.
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USTMA predicted original equipment truck tire sales would total 6 million units in 2024, down 200,000 or 3.3% compared with 2023. It also expects replacement truck tire sales to increase 5.9% to 22 million units from 20.8 million units a year earlier.
Meanwhile, stocks will remain at normal levels in North America, Michelin said.
Michelin’s decrease in tire sales in Q1 was expected, the company said, and therefore its overall full-year tire market guidance is unchanged, with volumes still expected to end 2024 flat to down 2%.
