Retread tyre industry under threat: report

Tyre Stewardship Australia’s recently released report, ‘Retread Tyre Sector in Australia: Comprehensive Market Analysis’, has found that the retread tyre industry’s share of the Australian heavy commercial replacement tyre market has fallen from around 20% in 2017 to just 10% in 2025.

The report states that since 2003, the number of retread facilities in Australia has declined from 61 to just 22 due to an influx of lower quality, lower upfront cost, single-use truck and bus tyres.

TSA said that Australia’s retread industry traces back to the 1920s, when Melbourne-born Olympic swimming champion Sir Frank Beaurepaire established one of the country’s first retreading businesses in Sydney after encountering the process in Canada while competing at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics.

“This report is a call to action. Australia’s retread industry has been contributing to a circular economy for around 100 years and today produces a top-quality product that delivers significant cost, productivity and environmental benefits for the heavy commercial vehicle sector,” said CEO of Tyre Stewardship Australia Lina Goodman. “Yet without government support, we risk losing our last onshore tyre production capability to a flood of lower quality and lower upfront cost, single-use tyres.

“The United States and the European Union have both acted to protect their retread industries. If Australia does not follow suit, we will become a ‘soft target’ for trade dumping of lower quality tyres.”

Report key findings

• Shifting market dynamics
  While retread production has remained relatively steady at around 390,000 tyres per year, the sale of new heavy commercial drive and trailer tyres has surged by approximately 80% — from 1.5 million to 2.7 million — driven largely by low-cost single-use imports.
   
• Significant underutilised capacity
  Australia’s 22 remaining retread facilities have the capacity to retread 55–80% of the estimated three million heavy commercial tyres sold in 2025, yet the industry is currently operating at only 31–56% of its single-shift capacity.
   
• Jobs at stake
  Around 125 people are currently directly employed in tyre retreading in Australia. If existing facilities were supported to operate at full capacity, the industry could directly employ approximately 1000 people — creating an estimated 850 additional jobs.
   
• Major environmental benefits
  The Australian retread industry currently reduces waste generation by approximately 16,000 tonnes per year and cuts emissions by around 44,500 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent annually — the equivalent of taking roughly 10,000 cars off the road each year.
   
• A growing market opportunity
  The total number of heavy commercial tyres in use is estimated at approximately seven million in 2024 and is projected to grow to around 10 million by 2045, presenting an opportunity for the retread sector if the right policy settings are in place.
   

Report recommendations

The report sets out a roadmap of market development and government actions to reverse the decline and ensure the long-term viability of Australia’s retread industry.

Key recommendations include:

• development and implementation of a mandatory product stewardship scheme designed to incentivise the use of retreaded heavy commercial tyres re-manufactured in Australia;
• investigation by the Australian Government of options to incentivise retread and/or prevent trade dumping of lower quality, lower upfront cost, single-use heavy commercial tyres;
• promotion of the waste reuse achievements of the retread industry in national waste reporting;
• increased enforcement of Australian Design Rules to prevent non-compliant tyres being imported into the Australian market.
   

The report was commissioned by TSA in May 2025 and aligns with the Australian Government’s Circular Economy Framework, which commits to doubling Australia’s circularity rate, reducing the national material footprint by 10%, lifting materials productivity by 30%, and safely recovering 80% of resources.

To support practical uptake, TSA has also developed a dedicated tyre retreading resource page, bringing together key insights from the analysis alongside guidance and clear entry points for fleets, retailers and industry to assess where retreading fits within their operations.

Goodman concludes that “supporting the retread industry could create an additional 850 direct jobs, lower transport sector costs and emissions, and grow Australia’s circular economy. The evidence is clear — it’s time for the Australian Government to act”.

To read the full report, visit the website.

Image credit: iStock.com/PeopleImages