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China Expresses Concern Over India Investigations

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has voiced “deep concern” over the Indian government’s trade investigations into and import restrictions upon Chinese products. On February 9 Ministry spokesman Yao Jian stated that vice commerce minister Zhong Shan had expressed China’s concern to India’s Ambassador to China, Nirupama Rao, during a recent meeting held at China’s request. Mr. Zhong told Ms Rao that China hopes to bring the trade disputes to an end through government and industry level communication and exchange between the two countries.

9th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Lower Vehicle Sales, Imported Tyres Hammering Indian Manufacturers

A slowing demand for new vehicles in India has prompted led to OE tyre supplies from manufacturers based in the country to reduce by as much as 70 per cent. And the story is not much better in the aftermarket sector, reports the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA), who says that cheaper imported Chinese made tyres are also having an impact.

“While the slowdown in the automobile sector has impacted the OE business, cheap imports and large scale dumping of tyres from China has created havoc with the replacement segment, forcing the tyre industry to go for production cuts,” said R P Singhania, who is chairman of both JK Tyres and the ATMA. All major Indian and multinational tyre companies, including Apollo, Birla, Bridgestone, Ceat, Goodyear, JK Tyres and MRF, are proceeding with production cuts of varying intensity in view of slowing demand.

19th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dubai Tyre Trade Worth £729 million

Dubai’s direct tyre trade (both commercial and passenger car products) amounted to 4.15 billion UAE dirhams (£729 million, 773 million euros, US$1.13 billion) in 2007, according to the Gulf Daily News. Further growth is expected next year, the paper reported.

“Commercial tyres worth 1.1 billion (175 million, 186 million euros) dirhams for buses and lorries were imported to Dubai last year, mainly from Japan, China, and India,” said Automechanika Middle East senior show manager Michael Dehn, adding: “…Dubai consumes almost 64 per cent, re-exporting 36pc to Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Africa. The commercial vehicle market is an essential industry in the UAE and an increase of 35 per cent is expected from this year to 2012.”

18th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Announces Plant Closure Intention

Cooper announced today that it plans to close its manufacturing facility in Albany, Georgia. The company states that the announcement “follows a network capacity study analysing the company’s optimal manufacturing footprint in the United States.”

Tire Review, based in Akron, Ohio said that the move was announced during a conference call with employees at all four of Cooper’s U.S. plants. Cooper will retain its plants in Findlay, Ohio; Texarkana, Arkansas, and Tupelo, Mississippi. As reported on Tyrepress.com, Cooper announced in October that it would review the viability of its U.S. capacity, with an eye towards closing at least one plant. An announcement on the result was not expected until January, but the decisions may have been hastened by the new union contracts and incentives the state of Mississippi is expected to extend to the tyre maker.

17th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

TWG: 1H 2008 a Record Year for UK Tyre Wholesalers…

When the NTDA’s increasingly Influential Tyre Wholesalers’ Group (TWG) met for its annual lunch in November, the event brought with it news of import quality checks, an update on the current market situation and a polite request for not manufacturers to take advantage of the UK’s detached geographical position when it comes to pricing.

However, in his role as chairman, Ashley Croft began by giving the audience representing the majority of leading manufacturers and wholesalers an overview of how the economic climate is affecting tyre wholesale markets:

16th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

India Restricting the Importation of Truck/Bus Radials

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.

8th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

US Tyre Shipment to Decrease More than 6% in 2008, Says RMA

According to the Rubber Manufacturers Association, US tyre shipments are projected to decline by more than six per cent this year compared with 2007, with a further one per cent decline predicted for 2009. Total tyre shipments were below 300 million for the first time since 1997, when shipments were 290 million units.

The decrease in tyre shipments, says the RMA, reflects the sharp downward revisions in the domestic economic conditions predicted for both the consumer and commercial sectors. Overall, combined OE and replacement tyre shipments for 2008 light vehicle and truck categories are anticipated to decrease by more than 20 million units to approximately 290 million total shipments, compared to the 310 million total shipments in 2007. A further slight decline of approximately three million total units to nearly 287 million total units is anticipated for 2009 as an economic rebound is unlikely to occur until the latter half of the year.

2nd December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Tests Confirm Conflicting Tyre Development Goals, Says Conti

When developing winter passenger car tyres for its premium brands, Continental AG says the most important consideration is how well brakes perform in one of the most commonly occurring yet critical road conditions for motorists in Western and Central Europe – wet road surfaces. An evaluation of the latest winter tyre test results reported by leading international trade magazines, reports Conti, confirms the wet-braking properties of tyres developed by the German manufacturer, which in most cases received the best scores within this particular category. In contrast, remarks Continental in a release, several competitor products and cheap Asian imports designed primarily for low rolling resistance were marked down for poor performance on wet surfaces.

26th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental “Welcomes” EU Tyre Label Standardisation

Continental has released a statement welcoming the proposal by the European Commission to introduce an energy efficiency labelling scheme for tyres (see ‘European Commission Proposes Tyre Labelling Scheme’ on Tyrepress.com). The manufacturer approves of the plan to provide motorists with standardised information about tyres’ braking performance, rolling resistance and rolling noise. However, the firm also warned that leading European manufacturers have reservations about the system, namely about “inadequate implementation to the disadvantage of the consumer.”

This concern is a response to a study by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, which in 2001 showed that self-certification measures are often abused due to a lack of inspection mechanisms and sanctions. Over 50 per cent of the electrical appliances checked in 320 German stores were incorrectly labelled or not labelled at all. “That simply may not happen with passenger tyres, considering how important they are for safety,” stressed executive board vice chairman of Continental, Dr Alan Hippe, the man responsible for the Passenger and Light Truck Tyre division.

25th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

China Pledges Thai Rubber Imports Won’t Decrease in 2009

Global number one natural rubber consumer China has pledged it will import as much natural rubber from Thailand next year as it has in 2008, despite feeling the impact of the global economic slowdown. Thailand deputy minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Teerachai Saenkaew stated this on November 18, elaborating that he has discussed natural rubber cooperation during his recent meeting with China’s vice agricultural minister Niu Dun.

20th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Compass Publishes Yellow Sea Import Warning

Compass Group Ltd, the EU-wide owner of the Yellow Sea Community Trade Mark has warned importers selling Yellow Sea tyres without its permission that it will take legal action. The statement reads: “It has come to the attention of the Compass Group Ltd that certain people and/or Companies in the EU have been/are importing/selling our Yellow Sea brand tyres into the EU without the authorisation of the Compass Group Ltd, and by doing this they are infringing our above mentioned and long standing Trade Mark.

“We therefore give notice that our lawyers will, without further warning, take all necessary legal action, including seeking substantial damages, against those aforementioned entities who infringe our ‘Yellow Sea’ Trade Mark…Compass Group Ltd is the owner in the EU of the ‘Yellow Sea’ CTM (Community Trade Mark), granted under a Certificate of Registration (No 4164489) issued by the OHIM (Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market) in the EU.”

18th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Grass Roots Environmentalism

With raw materials continually rising in cost and supplies becoming stretched further all the time, one more solution to the problem of expensive natural rubber supply may be on the cards. Cooper is partnering The Program of Excellence in Natural Rubber Alternatives (PENRA) to research the possibilities of a new domestic source. At the head of the field of possibilities is the Russian Dandelion, scientifically known as Taraxacum kok-saghyz (TKS). Its roots can be processed into natural rubber, which would serve as the polymer for multiple compound components of a tyre, including the sidewall, base and tread. Russian Dandelions have a similar appearance to more common dandelions but also possess a more complex root system.

“Cooper is extremely excited to participate in this innovative ‘green’ project,” said Chuck Yurkovich, Cooper Tire’s vice president of Global Technology. “This new process involves forward-thinking technology with potential to bring a competitive substitute supply of natural rubber that will be produced in the United States, reducing our dependency on off shore imports. In addition to providing a supply of natural rubber that is critical to a number of industries, it’s also an opportunity for Cooper to remain competitive in the market place with an environmentally friendly product that creates jobs here in the United States.”

6th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Indian Natural Rubber Production Rises

According to a senior Rubber Board official, India’s natural rubber production has risen 19.6 per cent during the first seven months of the 2008-2009 financial year, reports Reuters. The total output in this seven month period is 476,865 tonnes. At the same stage last year, the figure stood at 398,850 tonnes. India is the world’s fourth largest supplier of natural rubber, with peak season extending from September to February. Though this peak tapping period will see a drop off in the last two months of ‘08-’09, it is still predicted that 875,000 tonnes will be produced this year, 6 per cent up from last year’s figure of 825,000 tonnes.

Meanwhile, this rise in production has seen the country’s natural rubber trade deficit close – imports are down 7.3 per cent to 48,799 tonnes, whereas exports are up 80 per cent at 32,760 tonnes. According to the Reuters source, total stocks were at 144,450 tonnes at the end of August.

5th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Union Urges Cooper to Keep Jobs in US

Following an announcement from Cooper Tire that it would conduct a study into its US manufacturing facilities, local, state and national USW union leaders and about 80 others joined together in Findlay, Ohio to present their response – they want Cooper to continue production at its Findlay factory, and jobs should remain in the US.

30th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dekk Partner Develops New Structure and Marketing Strategy

While there are a few retail chains such as Dekkman and Vianor operating in Nordic markets, the majority of tyre sales are down to a considerable number of independent operators with one or two depots. For most of these as much as 60 per cent of annual tyre sales are compressed into the four month period leading up to the onset of winter. This figure is higher in the North, where the winter season is both longer and harder. High transport costs, extreme seasonal business and little chance of same day deliveries means that high stock levels are usually required at each retail outlet. Despite these difficulties the independents are generally faring better than the equity chains.

Increasingly, independent tyre retailers in Nordic countries are joining what is now recognised as the leading buying group in the region and one of the most progressive international tyre buying groups; Dekk Partner, founded in 1994.

30th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors