Tire shipments were up. Tire shipments were down. Tire shipments leveled off. Dealer inventories — full of winter tires at year s end — followed the same pattern. There was an earthquake, then a tsunami in Japan that not only slowed tire production but also led to a vehicle parts shortage. Massive flooding in Thailand in October also limited imports, although the country still increased its consumer tire exports to the U.S. by more than 23% (see Chart 5 on page 26).
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