Goodyear reports that through February, North America shipments of consumer replacement tyres to dealers/distributors were 8 percent above last year’s levels. The company says that strong industry shipments were driven by competitor dealers pre-buying ahead of price increases. Goodyear says its own shipments were flat.
Goodyear dealers postponed purchases in January and February as some pre-bought in December and industry retail demand was weaker than expected.
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As part of the Ford tyre replacement program, through February, Goodyear shipped about 400,000 tyres.
Through February, industry shipments of commercial replacement tyres were up 14 percent from last year’s levels, although shipments are still well below historical levels.
Through February, industry shipments to original equipment customers were up 10 percent from a year ago for consumer tyres and down 17 percent for commercial tyres.
Goodyear says that operating income in the first quarter of 2002 will be negatively impacted by approximately $80 million versus the first quarter of 2001 due to substantial production cutbacks made in the fourth quarter. Due to fixed contracts, declines in petrochemical raw material prices at the end of 2001 are anticipated to positively impact operating profit beginning in the second quarter.
In the EU area, industry replacement tyre shipments were up almost 3 percent for consumer tyres and down almost 6 percent for commercial tyres compared to prior year levels. Goodyear consumer shipments were below industry levels, while commercial shipments generally reflected industry shipments. Industry and Goodyear OE consumer tyre shipments were up compared to prior year while industry and Goodyear OE commercial tyre shipments were down.
