The tire manufacturers were forced to suffer alongside the automakers during the recession as sales and profit went down. Goodyear, one of the world’s largest tiremaker, announced that annual sales for 2009 were $16.3 billion, down from $19.5 billion in the 2008 period. Sales dropped by 9.5 percent due to lower industry demand in North America and Europe.
The descending trend ended in the fourth quarter, as sales were $4.4 billion, up 7 percent from 2008’s fourth quarter. The tire demand app… (read more)