Goodyear Tire hints that fourth-quarter earnings may be weak

Goodyear Tire, the largest tire manufacturer in the United States, said that sales in all regions were weak, suggesting that the company’s fourth quarter earnings may be weak.

Goodyear's share price fell as much as 12% on Tuesday, after the company’s chief financial officer, Darren Wells, made the remark at the Deutsche Bank Global Automotive Industry Conference in Detroit.

Wells said that the company’s consumer and commercial sales in North America are weak and demand in Asia and Latin America is weak.

The company also said that the floods in Thailand have caused it to close its main aviation tire factory in Bangkok, which may also affect earnings.

Goodyear Tire warned in December that a severe flood in Thailand could trigger a potential global shortage of certain aviation tires, which may hit the commercial aviation industry in early 2012.