Imports of car tyres from China doubled in October and November 2012, according to the Global Trade Information Services Inc. (GTIS) data.
Imports from China surged to 3.56 million units in October last year from 1.74 million a year earlier; whilst in November, the imports hiked up to 3.19 million units from the previous 1.64 million.
The surge of Chinese imports contributed to a 13.9% jump in overall imports during October and a 6.3% increase in November. Canada remained the No. 1 source of imported light truck tyres. Despite the surge in October and November, the January-November imports from China of 2.67 million LT tyre units were 3.1% short of the equivalent 2011 period. In the passenger tyre sector, the value of light truck tyres from China slid slightly in October and November from both the year-ago months and the months leading up to the expiration of the tariffs.
The increases in imports came at a time when overall U.S. tyre replacement shipments were decreasing. The imports’ share grew at the expense of domestic production. Overall replacement passenger tyre shipments fell more than 4 million units last year, or nearly 2 %, to 190 million units, according to the latest Rubber Manufacturers Association statistics. Replacement light truck tyre shipments in 2012 were estimated to have dropped about 2% t to 28 million units, meaning imports accounted for about three-fourths of the market, and Chinese imports for roughly 10%.(RJA)