imports Archives - Page 26 of 33 - Tyrepress

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Aeolus Importer Launches European Customer Website

Aeolus Tyres entrusted the development of its special Website for the European market to Dutch importer Heuver Tyrewholesale. The new site www.aeolus-tyres.eu was developed in the Dutch town of Hardenberg. The layout of the new European site offers the user a way to find background information and extensive product information. Later this year, Heuver Tyrewholesale will open an interactive web store on the site, where customers can place their orders any time.

26th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Chinese Rubber Association Seeks Lower Import Tax

On 22 March the China Rubber Industry Association proposed a cut in import taxes for natural rubber and a build-up in strategic reserves as a way of protecting the sector from price swings. Chairman Ju Hongzhen told Reuters it wanted import tariffs below 12 per cent as higher rubber prices were squeezing margins at tyre makers. Importers of natural rubber now have to pay either a 20 per cent import tax or a flat tax of 2,600 yuan a tonne.

23rd March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Rubber Supply Tight for Five More Years

The International Rubber Study Group has warned that supplies of natural rubber will remain constrained until at least 2012 as current levels of production are not keeping pace with rising demand from China and India. The group’s secretary-general, Hidde Smit, even warned that output in Malaysia, the world’s third largest rubber producer, is expected to fall below 1 million metric tonnes by 2020 from its current annual level of 1.2 million tonnes due to farmers cutting down rubber trees and replacing them with oil palms.

The price of natural rubber has more than doubled since 2002, prompting farmers in Thailand and Vietnam, the world’s largest and fifth-largest producers, to plant more trees,. These will take about five years to reach commercial production. “It’s been a very tight market that we’ve been experiencing since 2002,” Smit said. He added that this situation would continue until about 2012, when current new planting in other countries enter production.

22nd March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Federal Tyres Looks to Middle East Markets

Taiwanese tyremaker Federal Tyres has entered into an agreement with Dubai-based tyre distributor Al Saeedi Middle East to import tyres into the United Arab Emirates, a market into which more than six million tyres are imported each year.

Federal Corporation president Chen Da stated that not only have the levels of imports entering the UAE been growing annually, but the country is also an important re-export hub for global tyre manufacturers. “So we believe it is time to strengthen our presence in the UAE as well as in other GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries in association with a strong local partner. In Al Saeedi Middle East, which has more than two decades of excellent track-record in the UAE tyre business, we have found a strategic partner.”

19th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

WTO Interim Panel Rules for EU in Brazil Retread Dispute

A WTO panel has reportedly made a preliminary ruling in favour of the EU’s complaint against Brazil’s retread import restrictions. According to local news sources, a confidential interim report circulated to the two parties on 12 March ruled that Brasilia’s policy of allowing imports from its Mercosur trade bloc while banning them from the rest of the world was not consistent with WTO rules. It is extremely rare that WTO dispute panels reverse the findings of their interim rulings.

Despite the apparent setback, Brazilian officials have expressed some satisfaction with the decision, suggesting that the findings would, if maintained, allow them to retain the measures with only modest adjustments.

16th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

One-On-One With Michelin SA’s MD Gilles Boudou

(Douglasdale, South Africa/S.A. Treads) A man who first started his tyre career with Michelin 19 years ago as a sales representative and went on to become familiar with every aspect of the business, from the tyre manufacturing process to servicing the commercial sector, marketing and communications, now heads up Michelin Tyres SA.

9th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo to Import OTR Tyres into India

Apollo Tyres is considering sourcing OTR tyres from its acquired South African production facilities in order to meet increased demand from the construction and mining sectors. These tyres will most likely come from the 252,000 sq ft Dunlop plant in Durban, which Apollo acquired in April 2006 along with another facility in South Africa and two in Zimbabwe. Ten thousand tyres are produced every day at the Durban site.

1st March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Indian Tyre Market Remains a Closed Market

Since the “Dunlop Rubber Company (India)” was registered in 1926 as the first tyre manufacturer in India – when the country was still a British crown colony – the local tyre market has developed into an important but at the same time somewhat backward market. The sheer size of the market makes it internationally important, but Indian products are rarely sold in the most advanced Western markets. However, in the recent past some manufacturers have invested and continue to invest strongly into new technology in order to tackle problems such as low margins, growing competition from Western companies coming to India and increasing imports from low-cost countries such as China. This process of international adaptation and adjustment on the part of Indian tyre makers has already begun to bear fruit. Nevertheless, the Indian tyre market remains what it always has been: an almost completely closed market and an oligopoly whose future direction is difficult to foresee.

7th February 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

One-on-One With Conti’s Claudio Boezio

(SA Treads, Douglasdale, South Africa) When we first met Claudio Boezio in early 2005, he had just assumed responsibility for Continental Tyre SA in his role as MD. At the time and by his own admission, he was fortunate to inherit a well-run, stable ‘ship’. But if there’s one thing that remains constant in the tyre industry, it’s change.

5th February 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyrexpo Africa 2006 Proclaimed a Resounding Success

(SA Treads, Douglasdale, South Africa) After months of discussion, planning and hard work, Tyrexpo Africa 2006 – the first dedicated tyre show in the country after more than a quarter of a century – has come and gone. And by all accounts it was a resounding success. The three-day exhibition was based at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg in September, where over 110 national and international exhibitors and wholesalers took part, including Bandag, Ceat, Continental, Leaderquip, Malas, Maxxis, Michelin, Silverstone, Stamford and Vipal.

5th February 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

NR Prices See Another Jump

(Akron/Tire Review) Natural rubber prices continue to rise and dive, wreaking havoc among tiremakers and other rubber-based manufacturers. Rubber prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased 2% on Jan. 31 to an estimated $2,800 per ton, according to Bloomberg News, its highest price since August.

2nd February 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear and Bridgestone – Western Manufacturers in India

Although the Indian tyre market is mainly characterised by its strong growth, it still is a market that is relatively self-sufficient. India still imports tyres, and the volume of imports is forever growing. Nevertheless, the import market still accounts for less than three per cent of the total, although decreasing tariffs and duties over the coming years will certainly facilitate tyre imports. But the question remains why Goodyear and Bridgestone remain the only foreign tyre manufacturers to have established their own production base in India – despite all the talk about how important the Indian market, as part of the so-called emerging BRIC states (Brazil, Russia, India and China), is considered to be.

1st February 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Tire Stock Upgraded

KeyBanc’s Saul Ludwig has upgraded Cooper to “Buy” from “Hold” and increased his 2007 earnings prediction for the company. The Associated Press quote Ludwig as saying: “Following seven money-losing quarters, the pendulum is about to swing in a positive direction, in our opinion.”

29th January 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Motorcycle Tyre Market Revs Up

In contrast to car tyre sales, the UK motorcycle tyre market continued the pattern of growth it has demonstrated in recent years in 2006. Europool figures put the total market size at about 775,000 units (not including non-EU produced tyres and grey and parallel imports), up around 2.2 per cent on 2005. But industry sources are expecting more next year and are projecting that European produced tyre sales will reach 800,000 units (up 3.22 per cent).

24th January 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

US Authority Rules Against Mislabelled Import

In the US the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has ruled that a mislabelled Chinese lorry tyre presents a safety issue and therefore cannot be sold for use in the United States.

12th January 2007/by Tyrepress Editors