The US tire market performance has been playing a decisive role in the development of China’s domestic tire industry, and every pulse of the US market has been carefully observed by the domestic players all along, Xu Wenying, deputy head and secretary general of China Rubber Industry Association (CRIA), told Tireworld at a recent industrial event held in the coastal city of Qingdao.
The US maintained its top place by receiving 1.15 million tonnes of tires from Chinese tire makers in 2013, followed by the UK, who saw only less than 200,000 tonnes of tires delivered to the country last year, according to Xu.
The following table shows the Top 10 destinations for China’s tire exporters.
Table: China’s top 10 tire export destinations
In 2013, American tire demand totaled 327 million units, with a half bought from overseas markets.
Specifically, its demand for passenger tires amounted to 267 million units, accounting for 82 percent of the country’s total.
China’s tire exports to the US surged 24 percent from a year earlier in 2013.
The following table shows China’s tire exports to the US in detailed segments.
Table 2: China’s tire exports to the US (In a breakdown)
