Tire makers throughout western Europe shipped 4.2-percent more consumer replacement and 9.1-percent more replacement truck tires last year versus 2010, according to the European Tire & Rubber Manufacturers Association, the Brussels-based trade federation of Europe’s national rubber trade associations.

The members of the ETRMA sold 289 million car and light truck tires last year and 12.6 million truck tires. At the same time production rose 6.6 percent to 4.8 million metric tons, the association said in its 2011 annual report.

The ETRMA estimated the value of tires sold by companies within the association’s coverage area rose 26 percent last year to more than $40 billion.

The group did not publish OE shipment figures.

In his statement on the 2011 results, ETRMA President Patrick Lepercq said the group focused its efforts last year on “pushing for a strategy for a competitive and sustainable automotive industry which would support strong, innovative and competitive enterprises along the entire value chain.”

Among the issues Lepercq — also vice president for corporate affairs with Michelin — singled out as key to the industry’s future were availability of key raw materials, reduced consumption or raw materials, less volatility in their price, more and better recycling, a shift in energy supply and the need for new skill profiles and employment patterns.