Indian Figures Show Production Up, Exports Down

Detailed figures showing tyre production and exports by Indian manufacturers have been released, covering the months of December 2006 and January this year.

The figures are split into a number of categories – 12 in all – and the January figures show that, in eight of these, production rose compared with January last year. The total number of tyres produced during the month was 10 per cent up on January 2006.

Figure 1 shows the numbers of tyres produced in January, the percentage change over January 2006, plus the percentage change for the period from April to January (06-07) over April- January (05-06). This last figure gives a more accurate indication of trends, as a single month’s figures could be affected by such things as seasonal factors.

Category Tyres Produced % Change % Change
Jan 07 Jan 07 over 06 10 Months

Truck/Bus 1,041,413 +4% +3%
Passenger Car 1,267,273 +3% +5%
Jeep 100,548 -2 +6%
Light Truck 405,282 +1% +7%
Tractor 155,400 +28% +31%
(Front)
Tractor 110,394 +15% +15%
(Rear)
Tractor 75,891 +15% +35%
(Trailer)
Animal Drawn
Vehicles 35,378 -5% +20%
OTR 9,200 -15% +15%
Scooter/Moped 883,229 +26% -2%
Motorcycle 2,072,591 +15% +26%
Industrial 46,005 -2% +29%

Total 6,202,704 +10% +12%

Figure 1
Source: ATMA

When it comes to export figures, the story is rather more mixed. Looking at the same 10-month period as in Figure 1, exports of truck and bus tyres are down 5 per cent, while passenger car tyres are down 38 per cent. Jeep and light truck exports rose by 10 and 16 per cent respectively.

Exports in the agricultural tyre sector showed that tractor front and rear tyres fell by 29 per cent and 52 per cent over the 10 months, but tractor trailer tyre exports were up 88 per cent. OTR tyre exports rose by 41 per cent over the period.

On two wheels, scooter and motorcycle tyre exports both rose (11 and 79 per cent) and industrial tyre exports were also up 79 per cent. The total number of tyres exported in all the categories for the 10 months from April to January was 425,856 – down 5 per cent on the comparable period a year earlier.

Figure 2 shows the average monthly export totals over the 10 months as a percentage of average monthly production.

Category Exports as Percentage of Production
(Monthly Average Apr 06 – Jan 07)

Truck/Bus 18.5%
Passenger Car 4.76%
Jeep 0.09%
Light Truck 32.60%
Tractor (Front) 0.59%
Tractor (Rear) 3.62%
Tractor (Trailer) 0.89%
OTR 35.13%
Scooter/Moped 3.37%
Motorcycle 0.54%
Industrial 1.76%

Total 6.98%

Figure 2 Source: ATMA

Apart from three categories, it appears that at least 95 per cent of tyres produced are sold on the domestic market (there are no export figures given for animal-drawn vehicles, incidentally). The comparatively strong export figure for OTR tyres is probably explained by the global shortage of these large tyres and the strong showing for truck/bus and light truck tyres indicates that there are ready markets for these outside India.

India is regarded as a country with enormous potential, both as a growing market and as an industrial producer in its own right. At the moment, the figures seem to indicate that the domestic market can readily absorb the vast majority of tyres produced in the country, as India continues its programme of development and industrial expansion. In time to come, exports will assume ever-greater importance for the Indian tyre industry and it is a certainty that, if we revisit the production and export figures in a few years’ time, we could expect a much higher figure for exports as a percentage of production.