(Reuters) - Michelin expects its first-quarter sales to be slightly below market consensus due to steeper than expected seasonality in the first half of 2025, according to the transcript of an investor call held late on Wednesday.

The French tyre maker said that U.S.-imposed tariffs would add to volatility in the market, but its local-to-local strategy would prove valuable in dealing with them.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Michelin employs more than 23,500 people in its production sites across the U.S. and Canada. It has two plants in Mexico - Queretaro and Leon - and three in Canada - Pictou, Bridgewater and Waterville.

Analysis of the recent U.S. executive orders still require clarification and no conclusion can be drawn at this stage, Michelin's management said during the call.

The North American market, including Mexico, accounted for 38.6% of its total annual sales in 2024.

KEY QUOTES

"Finished products flows from other regions to the US could be impacted by the 25% tariff that applies to auto and auto parts, yet it is still to be confirmed whether all tires are falling under this tariff."

"For Michelin, the main flows are Europe-to-US in Agricultural tires and Indonesia-to-US in Tier 2 Passenger car tires."

"As regards retaliation tariffs from non-US countries, the story is just beginning. What we can say is that the USA is a low-exporting country for Michelin, therefore exports from US to Europe and Asia are very limited."

"In the current highly volatile context, we will not develop any forward-looking view today, we will keep it for our Q1 sales release later in the month."

BY THE NUMBERS

Michelin confirmed it expects volumes to drop between 6% and 8% in the first quarter, driven by lower car demand after the end of 2024.

Analysts on average were expecting it to report quarterly sales of 6.67 billion euros ($7.33 billion) and a volume drop of 2.6% in a company-provided consensus dated February 17.

Concerning U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, the group said that 70% of its tyres sold in the United States were manufactured in the country.

It also noted that natural rubber was not impacted by any of the recent announcements and that U.S. could be considered self-sufficient for the production of synthetic rubber.

Michelin will report first-quarter results on April 24.

($1 = 0.9105 euros)