USTMA Cuts US Tire Shipment Forecast for 2026

The US Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) has significantly lowered its forecast for US tire shipments in 2026, with total shipments now expected to decline 1.8% from 2025 to 330.3 million units. This represents a downward revision of 2.5% or 8.6 million units from the 338.9 million units projected in March. The revised forecast is also 2.4 million units, or 0.7%, below the 332.7 million units shipped in 2019. Passenger car tire shipments are expected to decline in both the original equipment (OE) and replacement markets in 2026, with OE shipments forecast at 41.0 million units, down 0.7% year-on-year, and replacement shipments forecast at 218.3 million units, down 1.6%. Light truck OE shipments are forecast at 6.3 million units, down 1.3% from 2025, while light truck replacement shipments are expected to come in at 37.1 million units, down 1.6%. The truck tire OE market is expected to record year-on-year growth in 2026, with shipments forecast to reach 4.6 million units, up 6.2% from 2025. However, replacement truck tires saw the largest downward revision, with USTMA expecting demand at 22.9 million units, down 7.1% from 2025.