The US economic slowdown has begun to spread to Europe, according to Michelin, one of the world's biggest tyre groups, which this week issued an unexpected profits warning that sent its shares tumbling to their lowest in almost a decade.

Michel Rollier, Michelin's general managing partner, on Tuesday said dire first-quarter trading in Europe, as well as North America, could signal far tougher times ahead for industry as a whole. "We see a risk that the US crisis could spread to Europe and we already see a slowdown in some parts of western Europe. It could get worse," he said.