US tire regulations stipulate that every tire manufacturer or retreader must imprint a TIN in or on the side wall of each tire produced.

The data shown in the image is example data.
The TIN is a unique identification number to identify tires and comprises the following:
indicating that
the tire
complies with the requirements of the US
Department of Transportation.
contains
details of the tire manufacturer. New tires
have a code with two symbols. Retreaded
tires have a code with four symbols. Further
information on retreaded tires.
describes the tire
size.
can be
used by the manufacturer as a code to
describe specific characteristics of the tire.
provides information about the
age of a
tire. The 1st and 2nd positions represent the
calendar week and the 3rd and 4th positions
state the year of manufacture (e.g. "3208"
represents the 32nd week of 2008).
Tire Quality Grading
Information on the maximum tire load