North America
A relaunch of the General truck tyre range in North America is intended to give it “a stronger focus and an identity that will resonate with commercial truck drivers across the Americas.” Upon announcing the changes to the Continental Tire the Americas brand, truck tyre brand manager Libor Heger commented that the General commercial vehicle tyre portfolio would be expanded to meet the needs of customers throughout the entire continent.
(Tire Review) The Tire Industry Association (TIA) announced the recipients of the 2010 Tire Industry Hall of Fame: Gus Hawkinson, owner of Hawkinson Tire Consulting; Nick Hodel, former CEO of Portland Tire Factory; Russell MacCleery, a retired tyre industry veteran; Gary Nash, director of OTR Sales for Yokohama Tire Corp.; Jerry White, chairman of White Tire Supply; and Don Blythe, former executive director of the Western Canada Tire Dealers Association. The Hall of Fame inductions will take place as part of TIA’s Tire Industry Honors event, from 18-19:30 on 1 November at Paris Hotel in Las Vegas.
Giti Tire USA certainly made a lasting impression with its very first product demonstration event in North America – blistering track speeds on a blistering hot day in Arizona, reports Tire Review. The company unveiled its new Champiro HPY ultra-high performance line at Firebird International Raceway, where air temperatures hovered around 106˚F and track asphalt temps were measured at 160˚F-plus. And based on the response of dealers and media attending the event and putting the new radial through its paces, the Champiro HPY lived up to its billing. Even after three lengthy road course driving sessions, the HPYs on a collection of BMW and Mercedes models showed no ill effects and none of edge feathering one would expect under such extreme conditions.
In the US, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and its more than 1,550 members are urging the Environmental Protection Agency not to adopt proposed rules that will have a significant impact on the scrap recycling industry – specifically the recycling of scrap tyres.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company commenced a public offering of $750 million aggregate principal amount of 10-year senior unsecured notes today (10 August 2010), subject to market and other customary conditions. According to the company, Goodyear plans to use the offer offering, together with cash and other funds to redeem $325 million in principal amount of 8.625 per cent senior notes due 2011 and approximately $388 million in principal amount of 7.857 per cent notes due 2011.
According to the Rubber Manufacturers Association, tyre shipments in the US this year are projected to increase by approximately eight per cent, a growth that will primarily take place due to a 38 per cent increase in original equipment passenger car tyre sales and a five per cent increase in replacement market passenger car tyre sales. The association estimates that a total of 282 million tyres will be shipped during the year, compared to 260 million last year. Thus the rebound in 2010 shipments will be roughly equal to 2008’s shipment level.
In the US the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission is to inhale $5 million into a $14 million project to establish a tyre research facility within the state. A further $5 million is to come from General Motors and $4 million from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), and will be situated in Halifax County, in Virginia’s Southside region.
Shares in Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. fell by as much as 13 per cent yesterday (Thursday 5 August) after the tyre manufacturer reported second-quarter revenue below estimates and said earnings were hurt by increased raw material costs. However, market analysts reported that the market has underestimated Cooper’s “near term potential.”
Responding to a US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to declare whole scrap tyres as a solid waste, the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) has declared the potential change in policy a measure that would “significantly harm the existing infrastructure that manages scrap tyres.” The association also believes two decades of environmental cleanup success is at risk of being reversed as a result.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. continued its strong 2010, posting a 27 per cent increase in sales for the second quarter and a $57 million improvement in net income for the period, reports Tire Review. Cooper posted second quarter sales of $804 million. Net income for the period came in at $44 million, up $57 million versus the same period in 2009.
During the first quarter of the 2010 financial year, Toyo Rubber received net sales of 72,162 million yen (£528.2 million), a 15.7 per cent increase on the same period last year. This increase in sales was matched by a 13 per cent increase in global tyre sales by volume, with a total of 43,700 tonnes of tyres produced in the three months to June 30, 2010. The bulk of this, 37,500 tonnes, was destined for the Japanese market. Operating income for the quarter was 2,612 million yen (£19.1 million), compared with an operating loss of 3,054 million yen a year earlier, and net income amounted to 743 million yen (£5.4 million) compared with a net loss of 2,620 million yen in the same period of 2009.
Net sales at Nokian Tyres rose 36.3 per cent year-on-year during the second quarter of 2010 to 260.4 million euros, giving the Finnish tyre maker total net sales of 444.2 million euros in the current financial year – an increase of 28.1 per cent over the first half of 2009. Operating profit for the quarter was 60.9 million euros, a year-on-year growth of 200 per cent, while operating profit for the first half stood at 82.0 million euros, up 369 per cent on the corresponding period of last year. Second quarter net profit amounted to 52.6 million euros, a growth of 342 per cent on the 11.9 million euro profit in quarter two of 2009. Profits for the first two quarters total 72.6 million euros, an impressive 4,740 per cent increase on the 1.5 million euro profit reached in the first half of the 2009 fiscal year.
As Tyres & Accessories has reported on its tyrepress.com website, Michelin has recently secured a number of aircraft tyre supply deals. The French manufacturer was named the sole tire supplier for the Bombardier CSeries family and was chosen by Air France and KLM to equip their commercial aircraft. It has also been selected by Turkish Airlines, as well as by Russia’s Sukhoi to supply original equipment tyres exclusively for its SSJ100 Regional Jet. In addition, Michelin has been awarded an exclusive contract to provide original equipment tyres for the Gulfstream IAI G250, due to be launched in late 2010, and its tyres are in the process of being certified by Embraer for its E-170/175 family of airliners.
Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd., has reported that it has returned to first quarter profitability with an operating income of 2,612 million yen compared with an operating loss of 3,054 million yen in the first quarter of 2009. Net income faired less well but showed the company returned to the black by this measurement too, with 743 million yen in the first quarter of 2010 compared with a net loss of 2,620 million yen for the same period in 2009. Period net sales totalled 72,162 million yen, up 9,789 million yen or 15.7 per cent over the first quarter of 2009. The tyre business unit posted net sales of 53,097 million yen and operating income of 1,995 million yen.
South China Tyre and Rubber Company travels to Brityrex with the mission of continuing its expansion into the international market with its two brands, Wanli and Sunny. Established in 1988, SCTR is located in China’s Pearl River Delta, owning two Guangzhou facilities, which are able to offer a production capacity of approximately 10 million sets of tyres annually.
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