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Bridgestone CEO Shuichi Ishibashi. (Shoko Takayasu/Bloomberg)

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Bridgestone Corp. expects a tougher second half as its U.S. business faces a sharp drop in truck tire demand, tariffs take a toll and it deals with the fallout from a cyberattack that disrupted production.

Truck tire demand for new vehicles in the U.S. has fallen sharply since early August, CEO Shuichi Ishibashi said Oct. 6. Many truck makers have been cutting production plans for the coming months.

The challenges in North America — including tariffs, weaker U.S. capital spending and shifting trade flows — are testing Bridgestone’s ability to defend margins and sustain growth, a familiar refrain for Japan’s export-driven manufacturers, which have been shaken by the rapidly shifting trade landscape.

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Ishibashi, who has led the company since 2020, called 2025 “a year of emergency measures and crisis response.”

While tire demand typically rises in the second half as winter sales pick up in Japan and Europe, that seasonal lift is being offset by the weaker U.S. market.

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The world’s second-largest tiremaker also absorbed additional costs after using overseas shipments to fill a production backlog caused by a cyberattack at Bridgestone Americas in August, which affected plants in North America and Latin America. That triggered extra U.S. tariffs on imports to fill the gap. The company plans to detail the financial impact of that during its earnings call next month.

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A worker handles a Bridgestone truck tire in a warehouse at the company's tire shop in Tokyo. (Toru Hanai/Bloomberg)

In August, Bridgestone projected a 25 billion yen ($166 million) hit from tariffs and a 10 billion yen downside from the U.S. economic slowdown for the full year, though it hasn’t included the latter in its overall forecast. Domestic rivals Sumitomo Rubber Industries and Yokohama Rubber Co. have also warned of multibillion-yen tariff impacts and are raising prices to cushion the blow.

Most of the estimated tariff costs began weighing on results after July, as earlier buffers from front-loading, inventories and shipping lead times waned, Ishibashi said.

The Tokyo-based company plans to maintain full-year guidance and aims to meet its profit targets. It may also announce its next share buyback in February when it reports its full-year results, after completing its 300 billion yen buyback in December, Ishibashi said.

“We’re accelerating the efforts to build a more resilient structure and offset the impact of the tariffs,” Ishibashi said. That includes consolidating older facilities, such as the La Vergne truck and bus tire plant in Tennessee, to lower fixed costs and improve efficiency.

Firestone Revival

Bridgestone is also leaning on its legacy Firestone brand in the U.S. to cushion the blow and lift profitability in the market.

“The revival of the Firestone brand is a key pillar of our efforts to turn change into a chance,” Ishibashi said. Sales of Firestone tires for passenger cars and trucks have been rising since the second quarter, helped by new product launches. The growth should continue next year, he added.

Ishibashi reiterated the company’s aim to make operations in Brazil, where Chinese-made tires are flooding the market, profitable by the end of this business year. In Europe, where operations have been improving this year, he said the company expects to reach an adjusted operating margin of 6% to 7% next fiscal year.

“Our long-term ambition remains intact,” the CEO said. “But with global policy shifts and a changing landscape, the 2030 target of a 15% margin must be grounded in the new reality.”

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