Bridgestone to Raise Truck and Bus Tyre Prices in Japan

As of March 1, 2011 prices of Bridgestone’s Japanese market truck and bus tyres will increase by an average of seven per cent. This increase applies to both summer and winter tyre lines.

In announcing the increase, Bridgestone notes natural rubber prices are continuing to rise “at an unprecedented rate” and that the price of petrochemical based materials such as synthetic rubber and carbon black remain at high levels. The tyre maker says it has already implemented internal measures to compensate for these raw material prices, such as increased productivity and enhanced manufacturing efficiencies, however the amount of rubber needed in the production of truck and bus tyres has led prices to rise “to a level that can not be overcome entirely through internal measures.”