Tyre production fell by six per cent in April to 33.1 lakh tyre against 35.4 lakh tyre produced in the same month of last year.
The negative growth in the automobile industry is one of the reasons for the slow growth in the tyre sector, since production in the sector is directly affected by the demand in the auto industry.
However, the increase in exports by 33 per cent has given the industry some cause to cheer. Exports in April stood at 1.91 lakh against 1.44 lakh tyres in the same month last year.
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According to estimates compiled by the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA), tyre production for motor cycles, light commercial vehicles and mopeds increased.
Tyre production for trucks and buses, which comprises a major chunk of total tyre sales, looked up by one per cent at 7.28 lakh tyres. The drop in sales of passenger cars reflected on the production of tyres for the segment which fell by three per cent at 5.87 lakh (60.3 lakh).
Production of tyres for motor cycles grew by two per cent at 8.88 lakh tyres during April against 8.77 lakh tyres in the same month of 2000. The slide in scooter sales took its toll on the production of tyres in this sector, which was down by 28 per cent at 5.96 lakh tyres. There was some recovery in the tyre production for mopeds which rose by three per cent at 9,588 tyres.
Other segments which witnessed growth in tyre production during the month were light commercial vehicles at 16 per cent and over-the-road tyres at 42 per cent. While production in the former stood at 1.74 lakh during April 2001, it was 3,316 tyres in the case of the latter.
Production in tractor tyres fell by eight per cent at 1.75 lakh in April from 1.95 lakh tyres in April 2000, ATMA said.