Here’s the strange part: the government’s official inflation gauge says tires barely moved. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for Tires rose just 0.7% over the 12 months ending July 2026, with tires carrying a relative importance of only 0.283% in the overall consumer basket that month, and the Producer Price Index for pneumatic tires climbed only about 2.9% from January 2023 to July 2026, according to Federal Reserve economic data. Ask anyone who’s actually bought a set since 2023, though, and the number feels nothing like that. The gap between what the index says and what your invoice says comes down to one thing: manufacturers have pushed through repeated list-price hikes that heavy retailer discounting has been quietly absorbing, until it can’t absorb any more.

Those manufacturer increases are real and documented. Tire Review, the trade publication that tracks pricing letters across the industry, reported that roughly 20 major brands, including Bridgestone, Goodyear, and Michelin, announced spring increases driven by higher raw material costs, pushing list prices “between 5 and 10% higher” on average and as much as 12% for specific sizes and styles. That’s not a one-time event. Since the reciprocal tariff announcements of April 2, 2025, tire importers have absorbed a 10% tariff on commercial truck tires alone, and Modern Tire Dealer’s own industry sourcing describes prices “moving up across the market” in wave after wave since, with one distributor executive noting further increases are still working their way through supply chains headed into 2026. Run two or three of those rounds back to back since 2023 and a full set that priced out around $520 at a chain shop that year is plausibly landing closer to $580 to $620 today at full list, even in a category where the government’s blended index barely moved.

Passenger tires: the smallest jump, the widest spread

A standard all-season tire for a sedan or compact still runs $80 to $180 mounted, depending on brand tier, with performance all-season options for larger wheel packages landing between $140 and $220. This is the category where retailer competition bites hardest, since passenger tires are the highest-volume, most shopped-around segment, and it’s why the CPI’s modest 0.7% headline number lines up best with what a Camry or Civic owner actually pays. Budget and house-brand tires in this category, many imported, are the ones most exposed to the tariff line items working their way through.

SUV and light-truck tires: where the tariffs bite hardest

Step up to a mid-size SUV or half-ton pickup and the range widens to $150 to $400 per tire, with larger truck and off-road-rated sizes running as high as $500. Light-truck tires use more raw rubber and steel belting per unit than a passenger tire, so the same percentage material-cost increase translates into a bigger dollar swing, and it’s the segment where multiple manufacturers specifically called out size-based increases “as much as 12%.” Commercial-grade truck tires face an added layer, since the 10% tariff on imported truck-and-bus radials applies on top of the general material cost pressure hitting every category. Heavier EV-specific tires, built with reinforced sidewalls to carry battery weight, sit at the upper end of this range or higher, since they combine truck-like construction costs with lower production volume.

Performance and specialty tires: the top of the market moved the most in dollars

Ultra-high-performance summer tires, run-flats, and other specialty rubber sit anywhere from $300 to over $1,000 per tire, and because these buyers are far less price-sensitive and far more brand-loyal, retailers have less incentive to discount them to match a competitor down the street. That’s the segment where a manufacturer’s full list-price increase tends to reach the customer almost dollar for dollar, rather than getting split with a sale or rebate, and it’s also where a single percentage-point increase translates into the largest real dollar amount at checkout.

Put the pieces together and the real story isn’t a single clean percentage, it’s a mismatch between two honest measurements. The CPI tracks what people actually pay at checkout, discounts included, which is why it barely budged. The manufacturers’ own price sheets, the ones retailers work from before any sale gets applied, have moved several times over since 2023 in the mid-to-low double digits. If your last set felt like it cost more than the headline inflation numbers would suggest, that’s because you were paying closer to the list price than the index average, and the tariff pass-through is the reason that list price kept climbing.