THE EUROPEAN Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers Association (ETRMA) recently released a report on its members’ sales in 2013, indicating that the year has sustained from a substantial contraction of the market that was marked with a double digit drop in sales for all the segments in 2012.
The immediate past year, 2013, had shown signs of recovery that were consolidated towards the end of the year, the report said.
Despite the market having stabilised, not all segments have enjoyed the same level of recovery.
The Consumer’s tyre segment poorly performed and registered a -1% decrease in sales, compared to the already negative previous year. When analysing country data, this descending slope is confirmed by Germany – the biggest European Market – and by Poland. However, signs of recovery were evident in other major markets such as France, Italy, the UK and Spain.
The Secretary General of ETRMA said that the increase in sales for the truck and bus segment has been more evident with a +8% growth compared to the previous year, adding that 2012 had been a particularly bad year for this segment which lost 19% compared to 2011.
Trade data in these two segments confirms a domination of imports from China, which remain as high as 40% of total imports for consumer tyres and are increasing significantly in the truck segment. In general, imports are growing in all categories and especially in the truck segment, where they constitute about 20% of the total European market.
The Agricultural and motorcycle markets showed a somewhat stable performance compared to 2012 with a 1% and 2% growth, respectively. This stability only confirms the very low sales of 2012 and a full recovery is yet to be made for these two segments. While 2013 was clearly not a year of boom on the tyre market, but sales data show a consolidation of the market and a return to growth after such a negative 2012, according to ETRMA, which also anticipates for a 2 to 3% growth in 2014.