Now one of the largest tyre-producing countries in the world, China has an indisputable influence on the direction of global tyre trade. The home of both fast-growing up-and-coming brands as well as a burgeoning domestic market, this tag chronicles China’s involvement with the tyre business.
Myanmar’s automotive market is likely to grow to 95,300 units by 2010, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8 per cent (2013-2019). That’s the view of researchers at Frost & Sullivan who suggest that this will be driven by a growing economy, infrastructure development and increasing income as well as better integration with ASEAN nations. Their view is that real growth however is likely to start only after 2014.
All-steel truck radial tyre manufacturer Dynacargo began exporting to the United States earlier this year. According to online news reports, Dynacargo (a member company of Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum (Group) Co., Ltd.-Kaidi Xixiang Company) has gained permission from Shaanxi Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau to export to the North American market.
Online news sources are reporting that South China Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. and Guangzhou Yitao Rubber Manufacture Co., Ltd. have signed cooperation agreement at a ceremony celebrating the creation of the Guangzhou Huayiyang Co., Limited joint venture.
Resistance to the acquisition of Cooper Tire and Rubber by Apollo Tyres continues unabated, with workers at the Cooper Chengshan joint venture factory in China's Shandong province locking out their US managers in protest against the deal.
Workers say that the takeover will put their jobs at risk and, according to Yue Chunxue, director of the labour union at the plant, foreign managers could face the risk of "bodily injuries". He added: "unless the deal is cancelled, we will continue to boycott it until the very end. A three-month strike ended on August 17th but the union is continuing to boycott work on Cooper-branded products.
Jiangxi Black Cat Carbon Black (Black Cat Inc.) reports that exports are growing fast after the firm redoubled efforts to improve “product quality, technology innovation” as well as expanding cooperation with certain leading international companies such as Bridgestone and Michelin.
Interstate Tire & Rubber Co. increased its already large program with 46 sizes. The total number of sizes of their summer tyre range is now more than 300.
Triangle Tire representatives have denied online reports that the company is planning to invest in a Russian tyre production facility any time soon. Following online reports which surfaced in August, Tyres & Accessories contacted the company and its UK importer TYM International. According to TYM managing director Steve Eke, there were talks with Russian government officials along these lines last year, but at the start of 2013 the decision was taken not to follow these through any further.
Chinese mould manufacturer Greatoo Incorporated is reportedly planning to establish intelligent factories for the production of large OTR tyre and speciality as well as other apparently high-end moulds as part of a so-called “structural adjustment strategy”. The move is being seen as a way of strengthening the core value of its company by focusing on the highest value sectors.
Rubber prices are entering a “bull market” as futures hit a three-month high following indications that China's economy is likely to demand more rubber for tyres. According to a Bloomberg report, rubber for delivery in January advanced as much as 3.2 per cent to 278 yen a kilogramme (2,817 a metric tonne) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, 22 per cent up from this year’s lowest close.
Shares in Cooper Tire & Rubber fell 3.3 per cent to US$31.50 on Monday 26 August, putting the stock down 6.1 per cent in total this month. According to the Wall Street Journal, this marks a two-month low and comes off the back of investor fears that the decision India’s central banks to review large deals by Indian companies may affect the transaction. Indeed one report emanating from India suggests that Apollo Tyres’ big for Cooper Tire is about to get reviewed in particular.
The 11th edition of the China International Tyre Expo (CITExpo) looks set to be the largest prior to the show’s opening. The three halls of the Shanghai Everbright Convention and Exhibition Center are full ready for the show on 4-6 September. The organiser, Reliable International Exhibition Services, says that more than 350 quality exhibitors will occupy 24,000sqm exhibition space, including major tyre industry brands like Cooper, Double Coin, Stamford, Techking and Triangle. Tyres & Accessories/Tyrepress.com will also be in attendance in its role as one of the show’s partners, with a full report from the show due in the October edition of T&A magazine.
A spokesperson from Cooper Tire & Rubber’s head office in the US has confirmed to Tyres & Accessories that the Cooper Chengshan joint venture plant, which has now resumed production following strike action, is not manufacturing any Cooper-branded products at the present time; the tyres currently produced at the Rongcheng facility are exclusively other-branded products.
It appears the strike at the Cooper Chengshan factory in China is over, and the 5,000 workers are back at their jobs and producing tyres. Details of how the strike was resolved are not yet known.
Upon reporting its first quarter 2013 financials on 19 August, China’s Keyuan Petrochemicals Inc. also shared that it intends to add to the company’s Solution Polymerised Styrene Butadiene Rubber. “The increasing market demand in tyre and auto parts has resulted in increasing market demand for styrene, ABS and SSBR,” The company added that “rather than focusing on optimising the current utilisation rates for its different facilities,” it has decided upon expanding capacity through a number of projects, including a new SSBR plant.
Work on the Indonesian joint venture motorcycle factory part owned by Pirelli is underway following the recent groundbreaking ceremony in Subang, West Java. The Italian tyre maker is 60 per cent shareholder in the PT Evoluzione Tyres (Evoty) joint venture, with Indonesia’s PT Astra Otoparts Tbk holding the remaining 40 per cent.
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