The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) has once again boosted its forecast for 2024 tire shipments and the group has increased the totals for every category in the replacement tire market since its August 2024 report.
Overall, USTMA says industry will ship 338.9 million tires, up 2% from the 331.9 million units shipped in 2023. The 338.9 million units would surpass the record of 335.2 million units set in 2021.
In August, USTMA forecasted 337.4 million units for the year and that was higher than the group’s March forecast, which called for shipments of 335.7 million tires.
This December, the association's forecast shows gains in all areas of the replacement market: passenger tires, light truck tires and commercial truck tires. But in the original equipment (OE) market, passenger and commercial truck tire units are both down slightly from the USTMA's August forecast.
OE light truck tire shipments are expected to reach 6.7 million units — a strong increase of 8% compared to the August forecast of 6.2 million tires.
Shipments are in millions and figures are rounded.
Compared to 2023 figures, in the replacement market, it’s the truck tire market showing the biggest gains — with units up 12.5% year-over-year. On the OE side, the light truck tire units are expected to increase by 14.6%.
