Automotive supplier Delphi has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. General Motors, Delphi’s former parent company will bear the brunt of the collapse because it could be liable for up to $11 billion (£6 billion) worth of pension and retirement benefits for about 25,000 Delphi employees.
(Akron/Tire Review) RMA says that shipments of tread rubber will grow in 2005, producing some 17 million retreaded tyres, the third consecutive year that tread stock shipments have increased. While overall economic growth is expected to moderate in 2005, RMA said that strong demand for OTR tyres will add 2.3 per cent in total tread rubber shipments for the year, up from 2004’s 1.5 per cent growth.
Continued strength in construction, increases in the number of trucks, expansion in the manufacturing sector and positive freight trends will sustain growth through 2007 at an annualised rate of 1.7 per cent. The RMA report did not include allowances for any additional tyre use as a result of reconstruction work in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The Chinese market seems to favour Malaysia’s natural rubber (NR) and is attracting increased interest from players in the Malaysian rubber products industry, according to the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB). The MRB recently organised a trade delegation visit to China and revealed details about business between the two far eastern countries.
The MRB explained that Malaysian rubber was well-known in China for its good quality. China imports about 1.4 million tonnes of NR per year, and this year, Malaysia’s NR exports to China are projected to increase to 350,000 tonnes from 290,000 last year.
A recent report in US trade magazine, Tire Review, has suggested lead balancing weights could be phased out from the American market in 2009. The report follows the implementation of the European End of Life Vehicle Directive, which banned the use of lead weights on passenger vehicles from July 2005.
The article encouraged US dealers to “start planning now for the same thing to happen here.” It also highlighted the fact that one balancing weight manufacturer, Perfect Equipment Co already produces zinc clip-on and steel adhesive wheel weights for GM, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler vehicles being exported to Europe.
A Dutch tabloid’s list of the top 500 richest people in the Netherlands has sparked rumours that Continental AG has bought InterSprint. The Dutch rich-list rated InterSprint’s owner, Job Van Vliet, as the 205th wealthiest person in the Netherlands.
In addition, the report quoted the normally understated Mr Van Vliet as saying that he only owned 5 per cent of the company and that the remaining 95 per cent stake was held by Continental through Conti-Gummi Finance. One explanation for the story is that, due to his reserved nature, Mr Van Vliet tried to distance himself from the reports suggestion that he was one of the richest men in the Netherlands.
However in Hanover, Continental AG denied that there was any truth in the report. In a firm rebuttal, Continental passenger and light truck marketing director, Lars Fahrenbach, told Tyres & Accessories that the company is aware of the report but Continental does not own any of InterSprint either directly or indirectly, nor does it ever plan to do so.
The fall of Slovakian economic minister Pavol Rusko has cast doubt on Hankook’s plan to invest 500 million euros into a new tyre factory. The so-called “enfant terrible” of the government in Bratislava always supported Hankook’s strategy and even offered public subsidies of up to 20 per cent of the overall investment, despite the criticism he received over this commitment.
Just one day before Rusko was sacked by the Slovakian president, the prime minister Mikuláš Dzurinda advised his minister to resign amongst allegations of “non-transparent credit transactions”, said a German media report. According to Slovakian analysts, it is likely that the policy of decreasing these incentives for foreign direct investments will continue under a new economic minister. Therefore, the Hankook deal does not appear to have a future. A decision was said to be due by 31 August.
Bridgestone UK has added to its truck tyre sales team with the appointment of Paul Emery as Trade Sales Manager (South). He replaces Terry Slater, who has become Bridgestone’s new retread business development manager.
In his new position, Mr Emery will manage a team of five salesmen and will be responsible for all Bridgestone’s truck and bus tyre sales in the southern half of the UK. He will report to head of truck sales, Julie Plumb.
Indian newspaper, The Hindu Business Line, has awarded tyre manufacturer, MRF, its ‘Buy’ rating. “Though the recent trend of subdued growth in earnings may continue for a while, the long-term prospects are encouraging,” the newspaper reported.
“The performance of MRF and other tyre producers has taken a knock owing to the sharp rise in the price of key raw materials such as rubber and carbon black. The pick-up in demand in domestic and export markets has mitigated the damage to the bottom line,” the report added.
Bridgestone Australia has released its financial results for the first half of 2005. Turnover is down 2.6 per cent to A$ 262.3 million (1H 04 A$ 269.2 m) but profits after tax and expenses rose by 20.8 per cent to A$6.6 m (1H 04 A& 5.4 m).
With so much to gain, why is the service and repair industry not heeding the wake up call asks Beissbarth UK’s managing director Phillip Hodges. “This is the last chance saloon for those in the industry who are plainly not up to the job, and giving competent operators a bad name, “ added Mr Hodges. If the industry cannot regulate itself then government will do it and the smaller firms will sink without trace under the weight of the subsequent red tape. This is the final wake up call.”
Mr Hodges cites a litany of damning consumer research reports ignored by the industry, compounded by threats from the National Consumer Council (NCC) to make a super complaint’ about the service and repair sector to government ministers, which could result in an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading.
(Akron/Tire Review) According to an Associated Press report, Bridgestone Corp. is looking to build a new tire plant in Tatabanya, Hungary. Construction on the plant, estimated at $229 million, would start next year.
(Akron/Tire Review) A 16 July report in the Nashville Tennessean said that workers at Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire’s (BFNAT) medium truck tyre plant in Warren County, Tennessee, would indeed go out on strike at midnight 22 July.
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US tyre shipments rose 4.2 per cent year-on-year in June, possibly boosted by pre-buying ahead of June price increases. Deutsche Bank analysts, who also calculated the figures, found that shipments for the full quarter were in line with expectations, rising 1.5 per cent compared with the second quarter of 2004. As a result of the strike early in the second quarter, the analysts expect Cooper Tire to “underperform the industry during the quarter.”
In contrast the report suggests Goodyear and other tyre manufacturers outperformed the market in the same period. “We continue to expect an inflection point for Cooper Tire in the third and fourth quarters, as production and industry pricing levels continue to rise,” said the analysts.
As the saying goes: “retreading is recycling.” And as such retreading its known as the more environmentally friendly side of tyre production. However, whether you sell retreads or new tyres all casings eventually reach the end of their lives. That’s where the growing tyre collection and reprocessing business comes in.
The August issue of Tyres & Accessories will feature the ways retreaders, and other members of the tyre industry, can safely and efficiently dispose of their used tyres in its ‘Retreading Special: Recycling’ supplement. In this special report T&A will speak to influential companies, take a look at the latest technologies and summarise the developments in this part of tyre business. Look out for the ‘Retreading Special: Recycling’ supplement in the August issue of T&A.
(Akron/Tire Review) JD Power/LMC Automotive Forecasting Services predicts that new vehicles powered by hybrid electric or clean diesel engines will garner 11 per cent of US sales by 2012. Currently, such vehicles hold a 4.8 per cent market share, said the firm.
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