Goodyear says tire units volumes dropped 3% in the fourth quarter of 2018. The decrease was primarily caused by three factors:

• continued weaking of the original equipment environment in China and India;
• declines in the European winter tire market late in the period (but is still up year-over-year); and
• supply constraints on volume for high-value-added consumer and commercial truck tires in the U.S.

“Price/mix was positive during the fourth quarter of 2018 but was less than anticipated due to weaker mix, partially as a result of the supply constraints referred to above.

“In addition, earnings fell in other tire-related businesses, including with respect to the company’s U.S. chemical operations.”

As a result of the declines in the fourth quarter, Goodyear says its net income for 2018 is expected to be “adversely affected.” Also, Goodyear’s total segment operating income is expected to be slightly below the company’s previous guidance of approximately $1.3 billion.

Goodyear says it is participating in conferences tied to the 2019 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, and will be talking about the lower figures during those presentations. It released the data in a report to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Jan. 15 ahead of the first presentation.

(A live audio webcast of the presentations will be available on Goodyear’s investor relations website at 12:35 p.m. for the Jan. 15 presentation and at 11:55 a.m. for the Jan. 16 presentation. A replay of the webcasts will be available following the events.)