Tyres can’t function without this critical raw material. Whether its natural or synthetic rubber you are interested in, articles bearing this tag feature this indispensable polymer.
Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC (BFNT) and Bridgestone/Firestone Canada Inc. (BFCA) have jointly announced an “across the board” price increase of up to 5 per cent on the companies’ tyre products sold in the replacement and original equipment markets, including consumer, truck/bus, agricultural and off-the-road channels. This increase will be effective January 1, 2004, and affects Bridgestone, Firestone, Dayton, associate and private brand tyres.
Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, a division of Japanese tire maker Bridgestone Corp., is ready to return to the negotiating table with the United Steelworkers of America, a spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires on Monday. The company is waiting to hear from the union, which broke off contract talks last week, said spokesman Dan MacDonald. The union represents 6,000 workers at six U.S. tire manufacturing sites in Tennessee, Iowa, Ohio, Arkansas and Indiana. Bridgestone/Firestone operates two non-union factories, and a chain of Firestone retail stores.
Darren Wells, vice president and treasurer of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, has been recognised by Treasury & Risk Management magazine as one of the nation’s top finance executives under the age of 40. Wells’ responsibilities include Goodyear’s financial risk management, treasury policy, and the company’s relationships with the banking community. He was one of the key participants in renegotiating the company’s credit agreements in early 2003.
Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire (BFNT), recently launched Winterforce, its latest winter tyre product line. The Winterforce is “stepped, siped and studable” for superior winter driving and is available in 33 sizes. “The new line is an outstanding value at an affordable price,“ said Phil Pacsi, executive director, North American consumer tyre marketing, BFNT. “The Winterforce is designed to deliver a quiet and comfortable ride to your destination – regardless of weather conditions.“ With the latest in high-sipe density, three-dimensional tread patterns, this tyre offers confident snow, wet and ice traction. Winterforce also features a computer-modelled unidirectional tread designed to provide optimum traction accompanied by a quiet, comfortable ride. The line meets Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) and Rubber Manufacturers of Canada (CMA) severe snow requirements and is pinned for 12 studs to offer extra grip. An “winter mountain theme“ sidewall design adorns every size of the Winterforce line. The tyres are available in a full range of 33 sizes.
Talks between the United Steelworkers of America and Bridgestone/Firestone broke off in St. Louis yesterday. ”We told them the offer that was on the table is not something we could work from,” said Chuck Armstrong, co-ordinator for the union’s Bridgestone/Firestone Council. The company’s offer sought concessions on pension and health-care benefits and did not address key items found in the Steelworkers’ labour agreement reached with Goodyear Tire and Rubber this past summer. Bridgestone/Firestone spokes-man Dan McDonald declined to go into details but said the company and the union faced many ”hard issues” that needed to be discussed to reach a consensus.
Scott & Scott, LLC a law firm with offices in Connecticut and California, announced a securities fraud class action against The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. The complaints filed by the law firm have cited various individual defendants including Samir G. Gibara, Robert W. Tieken, Robert J. Keegan, and Stephanie W. Bergeron.
Hwa Fong Rubber manufacturer and distributor of Duro and Dunlop tyres, will list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand on Dec 15.
Reduced supply and increased demand – notably from Chinese companies – have pushed Indonesian rubber prices to a record high. Bad weather has restricted the amount of rubber tapped in Indonesia and other producing countries such as Thailand. Tyre grade rubber price is around 66.75 cents/lb, compared with last December, when the price was at a low of 39 cents/lb. A trader said that most deals tended to be for small quantities and short delivery. There has also been increased demand from Bridgestone and Goodyear.
The amount of rubber imported into India by tyre manufacturers could reach 60,000 tonnes this year; higher than the original projection of 45,000 tonnes and more than double last year’s 26,000 tonnes. The tyre firms are importing through what is known as “the advance licence route”, which allows them to import rubber duty-free against exports of tyres. The companies are also said to be given 150 days’ credit for buying on the international market, while no credit is offered on the domestic market and domestic purchases incur an additional levy of 16 per cent.
Rising raw material costs have led to Indian tyre manufacturers raising prices by up to two per cent this month, according to the country’s Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association. Natural rubber prices rose by 40 per cent over the past year, and synthetic rubber prices by 50 per cent. Unexpectedly high demand from the tyre industry – which uses more than half of the rubber produced in India – and heavy rainfall affecting rubber tapping have contributed to the increase in costs, part of which has been passed on in higher tyre prices.
Philippine rubber producers have asked the Government to raise the tariff on imported rubber products to protect the local industry. The Philippine Rubber Industries Association wants the current three and five per cent duty on products such as hoses and belts raised to 10-15 per cent and the current 10 per cent tariff on imported tyres increased to 25-30 per cent. The Philippines Tariff Commission is currently reviewing the country’s tariff structure.
Goodyear is to re-state its financial results for the years 1998-2002 and for the first two quarters of this year. This is due to the implementation of a new accounting system in 1999 and errors in inter-company billing systems. The adjustments will not affect Goodyear’s cash position, nor its access to credit facilities. Another effect is that Goodyear is providing estimated 3Q results, rather than a detailed announcement. The estimate is for a loss of between $90-$115 million on sales of $3.9 billion and this figure includes rationalisation charges of $56 million for a factory closure and employment reductions in North America and Europe.
The price of rubber in Thailand has risen to a record high of 50 Baht per kilo (1.07 Euro), which is good news for growers and not so god for producers of products such as tyres. Last year Thailand exported 2.35 million tonnes of rubber to 60 countries, with China and Japan each taking just under half a million tonnes. This year China is expected to be the largest customer, taking around 550,000 tonnes, valued at 30 billion Baht (642.6 million Euro).
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has been ranked 19th in the list of Most Successful Engineering Companies, compiled for the trade publication The Engineer. The performance of 900 companies with facilities in the UK were rated on such criteria as percentage change in turnover and operating profit and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). The survey also concluded that the most successful companies view R&D as a function vital to the success of a company rather than an expense off the bottom line.
Singapore-based Stamford Tyres is entering into a joint venture with Sumitomo Rubber Industries to produce passenger car radials in a new factory in China, being built by SRI. SRI will hold 60 per cent of the JV. The factory should begin production in the first quarter of next year and will eventually have an annual capacity of three million units, destined for both domestic and export markets.
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