Imported bus and truck radial tyres have been categorised as a restricted item by India’s Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). News of this action was given in a DGFT notification dated November 24, 2008. Items restricted by the DGFT generally can only be imported into India via the obtaining of an appropriate license.
Outgoing president George Bush’s administration has reportedly reached a tentative agreement with democratic leaders to help carmakers GM and Chrysler stay afloat. The announcement follows the news that 533,000 jobs were lost in November and president-elect Obama’s announcement of the US’s biggest infrastructure investment since the US highway system in the 1950s. Obama has not to put a full cost on his plan advisers estimate it will be over $700 billion (£477 billion) and could even top to $1 trillion.
Deutsche Bank analysts suggested the LTFVUSA Act (Long term Financial Viability of US Automakers) would be comprised of two rounds of financing: “Short term bridge financing that would carry the automakers through 31 March and longer term funding that would be predicated on the plans for long term viability, which will be assessed by an auto industry financial viability advisor.” The effect the latest plans will have on declining OE tyre orders is far from clear.
Sales of new cars in the UK plummeted in November to 100,333 units, a decrease of 36.8 per cent on last year’s figures. These dismal results, released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), represent the greatest monthly drop since June 1980. During the year to November, car sales totalled 2,023,104 units, down 10.7 per cent on the first 11 months of 2007.
Need the services of an independent tyre testing laboratory? There are several big names in the business (TUV SUD and Smithers Rapra immediately spring to mind), but Standards Testing Laboratories (STL) claims it operates as the world’s largest independent testing facility for tyres, wheels and related automotive components. Through its four divisions, STL provides the rubber and automotive industries with dynamic laboratory testing, static and physical testing, fleet testing, test machines, specialized photographic and video services and consulting services.
Founded by R.L. Fuller in 1971, the company began as an independent laboratory with one roadwheel machine, operating from a trailer office adjacent to the Fabricated Machines Company. Today, STL runs more than 100 test positions 24 hours a day, 365 days a year through its four testing divisions:
This year’s inaugural Fleet Van awards ceremony in Birmingham saw Continental Tyre Group named as Tyre Provider of the Year. The judging panel evaluated entrants based on a number of criteria, which included: validated performance of the current product range; availability of supply; simplicity of fitment and evidence of the company’s commitment to future development and innovation. Trevor Gelken, Editor of Fleet Van Magazine commented: “We were very impressed with Continental’s performance in all of the judging categories, but the deciding factor for us was the outstanding focus on safety”.
Continental actively promotes safety through its work with road safety and government organisations using initiatives such as the 3mm minimum tread depth campaign. In addition, safety has always been the first consideration for Continental’s research and development teams in developing new product.
The labour minister in the Indian State of West Bengal has admitted there is not much the state government can do to resolve the problems between Dunlop India and union groups. This disclosure, reports the Times of India, came after the minister received a letter from company representatives explaining their decision to suspend production.
Mr. Mrinal Banerjee, the labour minister, said he would meet with union leaders on December 2. “We will talk separately with unions and the management and then plan a tripartite meeting,” he said. “But this is all we can do. For, this is not a sick company and the management is simply saying that it has failed to run the factory.”
News sources in the US state of Ohio have provided details of meetings between state and local officials and those at Cooper Tire regarding the status of the company’s Findlay, Ohio facility. The Toledo Blade, which comments that Cooper is Findlay’s largest company and the meeting was held “in hopes of keeping it that way”, reports that during the November 26 meeting the tyremaker was given a “strong pitch” for retaining the facility, one of four Cooper plants potentially facing closure in the US.
Dunlop India plans to suspend production at its Sahaganj facility and idle its workers on an Rs 2,000 (£30) a month retainer have run into complications, resulting in the company declaring a lockout at the plant on November 30. Workers have refused to sign an agreement accepting a suspension of production and the monthly payment, and on the morning of November 30 staged a demonstration against the company’s decision.
According to the Ukrainian news agency ‘RBK-Ukraine’, in the coming weeks almost every vehicle manufacturing plant in the Ukraine will close down. The vice-president of “UkrAutoprom” (Association of the Ukrainian motor vehicle manufacturers) Jukhim Khazan has stated that in mid-December 2008 production will halt at most automotive factories in the region. “Nearly all the facilities will stop production,” he said. “Neither AutoKraZ Holding’s nor ZAZ (Zaporizhia Automobile Building Plant) facilities will remain manufacturing. Boryspil Autoplant has already suspended production. These plants will be followed by assembly enterprises.”
Production is being cut back at Continental’s three German tyre production plants. From December 4 until early January no truck tyres will be manufactured at the company’s Hannover-Stöcken facility, and other production adjustments will take place at this and the Conti factories in Korbach and Aachen.
According to Marco Tronchetti Provera, the car market has yet to reach rock bottom. The Pirelli chairman was quoted by Reuters has saying that consumers would most likely wait several months to see if government measures to revive slowing economies proved successful before they considered making a larger purchases, such as a new car.
The Philippine government’s Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) has raided a warehouse on the northern island of Luzon, seizing some 10 million peso (£133,500) of counterfeit tyres and motorcycle spare parts. According to a PASG statement, the agencies raided the warehouse after receiving surveillance reports indicating the illegal nature of the activities within. The tyres confiscated from the warehouse are said to have been counterfeit Dunlop tyres.
In Canada, Michelin says it is placing an emphasis on employing Nova Scotians of African origin. According to Nova Scotia based newspaper The News, the manufacturer made this pledge on November 24 in partnership with the African Nova Scotian Partnership network and the provincial government. As part of the agreement, Michelin will share information on its hiring process with African Nova Scotian career centres across the province, where job opportunities are posted.
PK Ruia, the chairman of Dunlop India has told national media sources that the situation at the company’s Sahagunj plant, where work remains under suspension, is “under control.” The factory has been closed since Tuesday 18 November, when staff members were told to go home with an allowance on 2,000 rupees a month. The company now states that talks with banks to negotiate the necessary working capital to reopen are “at an advanced stage”, and that the factory expects to reopen in between 15 and 90 days’ time.
Franchised car dealers across the UK have responded to the downturn in the economy by freezing pay scales, according to the rts Auto Retail Industry Salary Survey 2009. The survey reports that 25 per cent of franchised dealer respondents did not increase basic pay for their staff between 2007 and 2008. More than that, it seems that dealers have been taking advantage of the industry’s high staff turnover rates to actually reduce pay rates for new recruits.
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