Analysts are expecting growth in UK car output during 2014 and beyond as newly introduced models move to full-scale production. This all comes despite a 0.3 per cent dip in output during the January 2014 compared with January 2013. Exports are also said to be showing signs of recovery, with around 50 per cent of exports go to EU.
Toyo Tire & Rubber reports it has expanded its automotive operations in the Americas with the establishment of Toyo Automotive Parts De Mexico S.A. DE C.V. The subsidiary specialises in automotive anti-vibration products and began operation in January. The Japanese company says the opening of Toyo Automotive Parts De Mexico will enable it to bolster sales of automotive anti-vibration rubber products in the global market through the creation of an optimal supply structure in Mexico, a location it expects will continue to grow as a global production and export base for motor vehicles.
The latest batch of UK vehicle production statistics covering the month of November 2013 was released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) just before Christmas.
Singapore-based Stamford Tyres has posted a S$4.85 million (£2.36 million) profit in the second quarter of its current financial year, a marked contrast to the $2.97 million loss reported a year earlier. Revenue for the three months to 31 October 2013 amounted to $71.5 million (£34.8 million), down 12.1 per cent year-on-year. The company says the lower revenues are mainly attributable to weaker export sales of Sumo Firenza tyres and mining tyres.
The hybrid communist/capitalist system makes the Chinese political environment an odd one for those doing business inthe People’s Republic. As well as booming demand for imported brands (many of which are manufactured domestically), the strange combination of top-down legislative rule-issuing combined with crypto-relational give-and-take means success is as much about knowing the people and protocol as it is about having your numbers straight. So when the ruling communist party announced a string of apparent liberalisation measures, you can imagine why Chinese middle class and the businesses employing them (as well as courting their custom) inclined their ears.
The SMMT has released figures showing that in October domestic demand supported the biggest monthly increase in 2013 UK car manufacturing
Car output in October rose 17.4 per cent to 160,854 units, the largest monthly increase so far this year. 1,286,287 cars have been produced in the year-to-date; a rise of 5.4 per cent.
Miami-based US tyre wholesaler Tire Group International reports that it was granted ‘Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) 281-4’ status on 9 September. This designation will give TGI the ability to defer, reduce and even eliminate customs duties on products brought into its US distribution centre for re-export.
The NBA Global Games’ visit to Taiwan gave tyre manufacturer Kenda the ideal opportunity to meet up with the franchise it sponsors, Houston Rockets, and its star player Jeremy Lin. Kenda officials were invited to a private meet and greet with Lin, who entertained guests by sharing some childhood memories of Taiwan, at Taipei’s Okura Prestige Hotel.
While UK car output provided good news for the industry, commercial vehicles remained in steep decline, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders figures show. CV output dropped 27.5 per cent in September to 6,963 units, meaning 67,609 CVs have been produced in 2013 to date, down 17.9 per cent from 2012.
The September report from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders makes good reading for the UK car industry, as output has reached a level not seen since 2007-08. In the rolling 12 months since October 2012, the UK has manufactured more than 1.5 million, achieving a five-year high.
Although Bridgestone’s new passenger car radial factory in Vietnam has yet to enter operation, the tyre maker has announced the plant’s first capacity increase. An additional 17.9 billion yen (£113.9 million) will be invested to further raise capacity to 49,000 tyres a day by the second half of 2017. This further growth will see the plant’s workforce expand from approximately 1,900 employees in the first half of 2016 to around 3,800 some 18 months later.
West Midlands based tyre wholesaler and producer, Treadsetters (Part of the TIA Group) has been named as one of the UK’s leading innovators of international export sales.
JK Tyre & Industries is reportedly planning to start its 1,000-crore rupees expansion plan at its Chennai plant within the next two to three months doubling the tyremaker’s capacity at the plant, according to the Business Standard.
Within the next two to three months, JK Tyre & Industries intends to get is RS 10 billion Chennai plant (£100 million) expansion project underway. When work is complete plant capacity will be double the current level, making it one of the company’s main export facilities.
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.
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