Gabriel Ride Control. (Arvin Industries Inc. Gabriel Ride Control Products Division)(CEO Report)

The upcoming year should be an interesting one for the tire dealer market. While we are projecting an overall softness in the economy, and only limited growth in the replacement hard parts market, we believe that the tire dealer segment of this market will experience strong growth.

This growth will come primarily from two sources.

First, vehicles in the prime replacement age group of three to 12 years old will reach an all-time high. These will account for approximately 70 percent of all vehicles on the road, or nearly 127 million.

Second, nearly 46 percent of these vehicles will be MacPherson strut equipped and tire dealers are uniquely …