Firestone Sales Down 40%

TOKYO--Sales of Firestone tires in the U.S. are down 40 percent from this same period a year ago, according to Japan’s Bridgestone Corp.--Firestone’s parent firm.

According to Reuters, Bridgestone President Yoichiro Kaizaki said the downslide has been offset by stronger sales of other Bridgestone group brands, and that the company’s total tire sales, including sales to automakers, had fallen by less than 10 percent.

Kaizaki declined to give specific sales levels or to comment on the number of lawsuits and potential legal costs the company was facing, the wire service said. “I really have no idea what the costs will be,” Kaizaki was quoted as saying in Tokyo. He added that this was the single biggest factor dragging down Bridgestone’s share price on the stock market. Last Thursday the shares closed at 1,105 yen, down 1 percent on the day and about half their value in early August when the Firestone recall began, although they are above the nine-year intraday low of 938 yen hit late last month.

Bridgestone said it was still trying to determine what caused the shredding of the Firestone tires while continuing to suggest that tire inflation pressure levels may have played a large role in the fatal crashes--an issue that has become a key sore point between Firestone and the Ford Motor Co., according to Reuters.