Smithers study tracks changing demand in $34.4 billion off-the-road (OTR) tires.

Sales of specialty industrial, agricultural, mining, construction, and ports vehicle tires are set for steady growth across the rest of the decade according to exclusive new expert data modelling. As this happens, the impetus to incorporate the latest material, business, and technology innovations into the latest generation of off-the-road (OTR) tires will increase. 

In-depth market analysis available to buy now in The Future of OTR Tires to 2029 from Smithers, shows this market will reach a value of in $34.4 billion in 2024, with 47.5 million OTR tires sold. Tire demand will continue to evolve in line with sales of new specialist equipment in each of the five end-use segments examined by Smithers. 

• Upgrades to many manufacturing facilities will increase sales of industrial formats, with a new emphasis on fuel efficiency and durability to lower business costs
• Mechanization of agriculture will underpin expansion in ag tire sales, including formats like flotation tires to protect soil from heavier machinery and more intensive farming practices
• Stabilization of global shipping and logistics will promote a recovery in sales of models for port handling and similar vehicles
• Construction tires are set to benefit from ongoing Covid stimulus spending to improve infrastructure, and potentially investment in home building in the medium term
• Mining formats will benefit from the introduction of new machinery, including for the extraction of a new generation of metals to support a transition to sustainable energy systems.

Combined these will have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.9% by value, and 3.7% by volume for the years 2024-2029. This will see 57.0 million OTR tires sold in 2029, with a value of $43.84 billion, at constant 2024 prices. 

Growth in OTR tire market value, 2019–24 and 2024–29 (CAGR %)
Source: Smithers

In several OTR segments there will be greater use of electric propulsion – either through new purchases or retrofitting – and the introduction of a new generation of autonomous vehicles.

There is greater potential in mining, construction, and agricultural segments to combine on-tire sensors with Big Data, predictive analytics, and AI software in a new generation of smart maintenance concepts – optimizing uptime across fleets of these high-value vehicles.

The existing trend toward fitting more radial units to OTR vehicles will continue, while some sub-segments of this market are providing the first practical applications of foam-filled and non-pneumatic concepts, including integrated tire/wheel and tracked assemblies. 

These new concepts will be introduced in parallel to the enduring trend for iterative improvement in durability, lowering rolling resistance, and load bearing to support larger OTR vehicles. 

Sustainability demands will create a limited impetus for using more recycled materials, as well as the wider retreading of specialty vehicle tires, regardless of format. This reflects the increasing need among major customers to achieve their own carbon cutting goals, a development that favors larger OTR suppliers with the technical capabilities and service expertise to proactively support this. 

The share of OTR tire product volume will continue its ongoing shift away from the mature economies of North America and Europe and towards emerging and developing economies – mainly those in the Asia-Pacific region, whose market share will approach 50% of global volume by the end of the decade.

Historic, current, and future demand for OTR tires is analyzed and forecast authoritatively in the new Smithers report The Future of OTR Tires to 2029. It employs in-depth market mapping to quantify the sector in a dataset of 177 tables and figures, segmenting the market by:

• Value & volume – $ Million; Tonnage, Units sold  
• End-use market & size: Industrial; Agricultural & forestry; Mining; Construction; Ports & handling –  Giant, Large, Medium/small
• Geographic region: North America, South & Central America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East & Africa.

This is contextualized by coverage of the latest material and design trends, and strategic profiles of the top 20 OTR tire OEMs globally.