China's All-Steel Tires: Crisis & Shift

Back then, all-steel tires were the "dream tires" of Chinese tire companies, and a surefire way to get rich.

In the golden age when the economy was developing rapidly and freight demand was expanding like a balloon, all-steel tires were like riding on a rocket, soaring all the way, and directly "grasping" the all-steel market in China and even the world. 

But who would have thought that the seemingly brilliant victory might be a "false prosperity" before the storm, and a "palace fight drama" in the tire industry was quietly opening.

Heavy-duty truck original equipment: from "hot cake" to "hot potato"
Let's talk about the original equipment of heavy-duty trucks first. It's really getting worse year by year, a surefire "performance Waterloo" scene.

In May 2025, my country's heavy-duty truck market sold a total of about 83,000 vehicles (wholesale caliber, including exports and new energy), a slight decrease of 5% from April this year, and an increase of about 6% from 78,200 vehicles in the same period last year.

This is also the second consecutive increase in the heavy-duty truck market since April this year. Looking at the sales volume in May in the past eight years, it is higher than the sales volume in May of the past three years from 2022 to 2024, and lower than the sales volume in May of other years, which is "barely" considered average.

Cumulatively, from January to May this year, the cumulative sales volume of my country's heavy truck market was about 435,500 vehicles, a slight increase of about 1% year-on-year.

If the trucks for transportation can't be sold, who would think about changing the tires of the car? It's like if you don't drive your car anymore, will you buy new shoes (tires) for it? I guess everyone is thinking about selling the car for money.

Export data: The United States staged a "breakup drama" 

Looking at the export data again, at first glance, China's rubber tire exports in 2024 reached 9.32 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 5.2%; the export value was 164.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.6%, and the export data of new pneumatic rubber tires, car tires, etc. also "rose".

If we only look at these year-on-year data, it is estimated that many tire factory owners will be very happy: "Our export business is very stable, and we can make money without doing anything!"

But don't worry, this data is like a "beautification filter", which looks good but can't stand a closer look. In 2024, the import volume of tires in the United States was "all red", totaling 273 million, a year-on-year increase of 7.3%. The import volume of various types of tires such as passenger car tires, truck tires, and aircraft tires is increasing. But if you look at the performance of Chinese tires in the US market, it is simply "ice and fire".

In 2024, the number of tires imported from China by the United States totaled 24.86 million, a year-on-year decrease of 3%. Passenger car tires decreased by 34% year-on-year to 1.59 million, and truck tires decreased by 22% year-on-year to 1.55 million.

Once upon a time, the United States was a "super big customer" for Chinese tire exports, and the two sides were "you love me" and the business was booming. But now, Chinese tires are being "blacklisted" by the US market little by little, staging a "grand" "breakup drama".

Operating rate: The "bloody world" of all-steel tires
Compared with 2023, the performance of all-steel tires in 2024 is "terrible", with an average year-on-year decline of 3%, 4%, and 2% in the second, third, and fourth quarters respectively.

If there were no exports and semi-steel tires, the tire factories this year would have lost money and the bosses would have to "set up stalls and sell misery" under the overpass. But the tire market in 2025 is not as good as in 2024.

Data shows that truck tires continue to be unsalable from the factory to the steel rims, and it takes at least 43 days from the tires off the line to installation. The number of days of inventory of tire companies is increasing, and the operating rate is getting lower and lower!

Price advantage: seemingly "trump card", but actually "bomb"
For a long time, domestic brand all-steel tires have been "running rampant" in the market under the banner of "price advantage".

It has to be said that Chinese tires have indeed made great progress in recent years. But this price advantage is like a "double-edged sword". Although it makes Chinese all-steel tires "flourishing" in the market, it also plants a fixed mindset for consumers: "Domestic tires are cheap!"

Moreover, tire products are affected by various factors such as raw materials and national policies, and this so-called price advantage may "disappear" at any time.

As long as you raise the price slightly, consumers will immediately stop buying it, and your only remaining advantage will instantly disappear, and the banner of advantage will also begin to "shake". It's like you have been giving discounts to your friends, and suddenly one day you don't give discounts, your friends may think you have "changed" and no longer patronize your business.

All-steel tires: the "tragic end" of an era
The once glorious all-steel tires seem to be heading for a "curtain call". Dunlop, with a history of more than 130 years, is also a "famous" figure in the field of all-steel tires, but in the face of the general trend, it can only "retreat" and announce that it will stop the sales and production of [truck and bus tires] products from January 1, 2023.

Foreign brands such as Yokohama and Kumho gave up the Chinese truck and bus tire market a few years ago. Even tire giants such as Michelin and Goodyear are struggling in the Chinese truck and bus tire market. The fading out of the Chinese market for foreign-funded all-steel tires may seem like a "victory" for Chinese tire companies, but the price of this victory is too high.

The serious consequences of the "shortcuts" that China's all-steel tires took before may have just begun to emerge. After a long period of "barbaric growth", the large tire market is now facing a weak market. Both the original equipment market and the replacement market are "unable to recover".

The export market is either affected by the double anti-dumping or "cannot raise its head" because of the skyrocketing freight rates.

The "double attack" at home and abroad has made the large tire market difficult in 2024, and it is estimated that it will be even more difficult in 2025, which is simply "adding insult to injury".

Where will the future of China's all-steel tires go? Will it continue to struggle in the "quagmire" of price wars, or strive to transform and upgrade and get rid of the label of "cost-effectiveness"? 

This is a question that every tire company needs to think about seriously. After all, in this fiercely competitive market, if you don’t make progress, you will fall behind.

If you are not careful, you may be “beaten to death” on the beach. I hope that Chinese all-steel tires can find their own “way out” as soon as possible and stage a good show of “the return of the king”!