Tyre production in China during the month of September increased 6.8 per cent year on year, to 45.6 million units. Synthetic rubber production totalled 170,000 tons during the month, down 5.7 per cent on the previous year.
During the January-September period, tyre output totalled 425.92 million units, an increase of 12.9 per cent year on year, while synthetic rubber output totalled 1.76 million tons, up 9 per cent.
Jonathan Karelse has been named director of marketing at Yokohama Tire (Canada) Inc., replacing Henry Pietraszek who left the company earlier this year.
Karelse joined Yokohama Canada in 2005, and has served on the Rubber Association of Canada’s Statistics Committee for the past four years. In his new role, he will be responsible for all of the company’s marketing operations. (Tire Review/Akron)
According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, tyre production across the country in July grew 14.8 per cent over last year, to a total of 49.67 million units. The Bureau’s statistics, reported by Dow Jones, also include figures for synthetic rubber production, which rose 27.7 per cent in July to 194,000 tonnes.
During the months of January to July 2008, tyre production rose 13.5 per cent year on year to 329.32 million units, while synthetic rubber output totalled 1.25 million tones, an increase of 12.2 per cent.
In response to recent figures that show North Staffordshire to be the worst performing region for new business development and start-ups, Michelin Development has issued a challenge to companies in the area to become more entrepreneurial.
Newly released statistics from Michelin Development Ltd – the business development arm of Michelin Tyre Plc – show the North Staffordshire region to be the lowest ranking of the four regions – East Lancashire, Dundee and Ballymena – where the Michelin Development fund is available to firms. Having only two years ago accounted for 48 per cent of all the jobs created through investment assistance from the Michelin Development fund, North Staffordshire now finds itself in alarming decline with no new loans or jobs created in 2008.
Russian passenger car tyre production has remained flat in the first half of 2008. Compared with January to June 2007, production fell 0.1 per cent to 13.8 million tyres, according to details of a Federal State Statistics Service report published by the Prime-Tass news agency. The same survey found that truck and bus tyre output fell 0.6 per cent to 5.56 million units in the same period. During 2007 as a whole car tyre output in Russia reportedly rose 6 per cent to 29.3 million units.
German company ProContour GmbH describes itself as “a future-oriented business” and it has just come up with a device that can measure tread depths of tyres in moving traffic.
Working on the principle of laser triangulation, the ProContour H3-D will make a significant contribution to road safety, believes the company. Statistics show that, in Germany, there are 55.3 million motor vehicles and 2.79 million trucks registered and, in 2005, 2.25 million accidents were recorded by the police, with 15 fatalities a day on German roads. In stark economic terms, the damage amounted to 32 billion euros.
On the final day of March an important new product from Continental was given its series production debut – a sensor system designed to prevent rear-end collisions at city driving speeds. Premiering on Volvo’s XC60, Continental calls the new sensor system an “important milestone” for its all-round ContiGuard safety system.
The system monitors the road ahead of the vehicle, and is networked with the braking system. It automatically applies the brakes if there is a risk of a rear-end collision and the driver either fails to react or if his or her reactions are too slow. Continental has developed and supplied both the infrared sensor, which monitors the road ahead and detects objects, and the electronic braking system, both of which are core components of Volvo´s innovative “City Safety” concept.
The public has heard it a number of times before, and from several authoritative sources, but the tyre safety message doesn’t seem to be one that readily sinks in. Now nationwide breakdown service Autonational Rescue has added its voice, urging motorists not to get “tyred out” when it comes to carrying out basic safety checks on their car.
“Tyres appear to be one of the most neglected areas of the vehicle but they can be either a life saver or killer in the wintry conditions we experience at this time of year,” comments marketing manager Ronan Hart. “They should be checked regularly for damage or any signs of wear and tear. It’s not sufficient to give them an occasional kick to check pressure or a cursory glance at the tread.”
The Department for Transport has published National Statistics on Traffic in Great Britain for the fourth quarter of 2007 and for 2007 as a whole. Comparing the whole of 2007 with 2006, traffic is provisionally estimated to have increased by 0.6 per cent. This is lower than the underlying annual rate of increase of 1.3 per cent from 2001 to 2006.
The 198-page report goes into significant detail, but reveals that, comparing 2007 with 2006 as a whole, car traffic decreased by 1 per cent.; light van traffic was 9 per cent higher; and heavy goods vehicle traffic was 1 per cent higher. This means, according to the report, cars account for 78 per cent of all motor vehicle traffic, light vans (14 per cent), good vehicles (6 per cent) and other vehicles (2 per cent).
The latest statistics show that 12 per cent or 120,000 out of all of the UK’s one million potholes are not being filled by local councils, which means that repair bills are now soaring every year because of the lack of maintenance by government authorities. Since 1996, the number of claims has soared by 78 per cent in London alone, by 42 per cent in England and by 70 per cent in Wales. TyreSafe recommends that one method of reducing damage to tyres caused by potholes is to maintain them at the levels of pressure recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. If any level of damage is suspected, motorists should visit their nearest dealer or tyre retailer for their tyres to be examined for any faults.
Indian tyre exports swelled to 518,603 units in October, up 40 per cent year-on-year. According to the latest ATMA statistics, year-to-date exports are 22 per cent ahead of where they were this time last year. The truck and bus (TBR), passenger car (PCR) and off-the-road (OTR) segments faired particularly well rising to 203,103 units (up 18%); 90,194 (up 185%); and 4308 units (up 97%) respectively.
Malaysia natural rubber production is down 6.7 per cent year-on-year, according to the local national statistics board. In October production was recorded at 97,627 tons, down 5.7 per cent compared with September. However, exports increased 1.8 per cent compared with October 2006. In October 2007 NR imports totalled 60,212 tons, up 13.8 per cent compared with September. Imports were up 64.3 per cent over October 2006. According to the data, the tyre industry consumed 11.7 per cent of Malaysia’s NR in October 2007.
North American based member supported industry association the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB) reports that approximately 18.6 million retreaded tyres were sold in North America during 2006, with sales exceeding US$3 billion. The majority of these were medium truck tyres. TRIB further reports that currently there are approximately 900 independent and manufacturer linked retreading plants operating in North America.
Haymarket Exhibitions has launched a brand-new website for The Aftermarket Show 2008 and industry professionals can now take advantage of an online registration facility to reserve their tickets in advance. Held at the NEC near Birmingham, The Aftermarket Show (January 10-13) is regarded as one of the UK’s leading aftermarket trade shows. It is expected to attract more than 4,000 factor, retailer and installer visitors during the four days that it runs alongside Autosport International.
The organisers of Tyrexpo Asia, ECI International, have announced that this year’s attendance figures broke all previous records. A total of 3,219 visitors passed through the Singapore Expo Centre’s gates between September 11 and 13. This represents a 9 per cent increase on the number of visitors at Tyrexpo Asia 2005. Statistics also indicate that guests from more than 88 countries were in attendance.
According to ECI International’s Rowena Suthers, 20 per cent of those exhibiting have already booked their exhibition space for the 2009 Tyrexpo Asia show, scheduled to be held between March 24 and 26, 2009. The earlier date of March has been selected, says Ms Suthers, to “give everyone who supports the show the very best opportunity to maximise their investment.”
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