The Indian government has put provisional anti-dumping duty (ADD) on tyres imported from China and Thailand, with effect from 9 October the Business Standard reported. According to the newspaper, 300,000 imported tyres brought in mainly from China for the commercial vehicle (CV) segment are sold in India annually. Domestic manufacturers sell over 10 million tyres.
(Akron/Tire Review) Tuesday’s military coup in Thailand, has forced a number of companies to suspend operations. According to reports, a number of Japan-based companies were impacted, including electronics maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which halted the operations at its 21 Thai plants on Wednesday to ensure the safety of employees. Sony Corp., Sanyo Electric, Hitachi Ltd., NEC Corp., Fujitsu Ltd. and Sharp Corp. also suspended operations Bangkok.
The Indian finance ministry has introduced anti-dumping duty on nylon filament yarn and nylon tyre cord imported from China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Korea. According to the Directorate General of Anti Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), these items have been exported to India at artificially low prices. Importers of nylon filament yarn from China will have to pay a duty of Rs 63 (1.06 euros) per kg, but importers from Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea have been hit harder, paying Rs 77 (1.29 euros) per kg. The DGAD recommended that the finance ministry introduced duties on synthetic fabrics, saying that the Indian industry had suffered material losses because of dumping by exporters from these six countries, as the market for synthetic textiles in India continues to grow.
Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., broke ground for the construction of its new Suzhou Yokohama Tire Co., Ltd., factory on 11 August. The new “affiliate” facility will produce and sell steel radial tyres for truck and buses in China.
(Akron/Tire Review) Rubber planters in Asia are tapping trees faster than ever, pushing down prices and helping a recovery in shares of tyre manufacturers Bridgestone Corp., Groupe Michelin and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Rubber prices in Tokyo, the world’s biggest futures market for the material, have fallen 20 per cent since reaching a record on 12 June. Supply has risen after companies such as PT Astra Agro Lestari planted more rubber trees in Indonesia and Malaysia to keep up with Chinese consumption. Now, China is taking steps, such as last week’s interest rate increase, to slow its economy.
Construction work for Sumitomo Rubber (Thailand) Co., Ltd.’s Thailand factory officially got underway following a groundbreaking ceremony on 1 August. Approximately fifty people including government officials, police representatives and other guests as well as Thai president Tetsuharu Mino attended the ceremony. The factory is due to start production early in 2007. It will produce high quality tyres under a new efficient production system named Taiyo. Capacity is expected to reach 8,000 units per day by the end of 2007. SRI told local news sources that it is aiming for a 10 per cent market share in the ASEAN nations in the coming years.
Dubai-based Varga Trading co LLC has received ISO 9001:2000 accreditation. The 29-year-old company is said to have applied for the accreditation as part of its plans to be become a large scale tyre ditstributor.
According to a report in the Shanghai Daily, the Bridgestone Corporation is looking towards the booming Chinese auto market to help maintain a 30 per cent growth in sales in China this year. “Chinese sales were up more than 30 per cent in 2005, and we expect the same increase this year,” said Hiromichi Odagiri, chief executive for Bridgestone China. “We have run quite well in the first half.”
Michelin is keen to enter the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) segment of the Indian passenger car and truck markets, according to the Indian press. This was made clear in an article with The Hindu recently, in which Herve Dub, Chief Executive Officer, Michelin India Tyres Private Ltd. said, “We are in discussions with some OEMs. There will be some good news on this front in 12 months,” he added.
PCL has reported excellent feedback from Reifen visitors viewing its world-leading portfolio of tyre inflation products. UK-based PCL welcomed representatives of tyre shops, mobile tyre vans, garages, car dealers, fleet and transport managers from Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Thailand, Germany, Poland, Korea and Iceland. Substantial orders were placed for the EC-approved Airforce – PCL’s brand new generation of mechanical handheld air line gauges.
(Akron/Tire Review) Stamford Tyres Corp. announced record net profit of 15.6 million Singapore dollars for the financial year ended 30 April, an 80.8 per cent growth over the S$8.6 million (£2.957 million) recorded in 2005. Revenue grew 32.4 per cent, to S$253.2 million (£87 million), the company said.
(Akron/Tire Review) Bridgestone Corp. confirmed May 22 that it would build an $81 million (63 million euros) carbon black plant in Mexico to service its worldwide tyre plants. The new site would be Bridgestone’s third carbon black plant; the others are located in Japan and Thailand. The new facility is scheduled to begin production in June 2008, and will have an initial annual capacity of 35,000 tons.
Following soaring demand and tight supply, the price of natural rubber has reached a 22-year high. Now, as a result The Times reports that speculators are pumping money into rubber futures, after fears that the supply situation could worsen because of adverse weather and “rumours of unrest in Muslim areas in Southern Thailand.” Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia produce 60 per cent of the world’s natural rubber. The International Rubber Study Group (ISRG) reports that tightness in the supply of natural rubber is likely to continue, predicting a deficit of 820,000 tons by 2010, up from 250,000 tons this year.
Continental Sime Tyre Sdn Bhd is targeting to raise its output of passenger car tyres to 5.5 million by the middle of 2007, up from last year’s 3.5 million units. The company, a 70:30 merger between Continental AG and Sime Darby Bhd, said it is attempting to increase production at its Alor Star factory to 4.5 million tyres by the end of this year and move passenger tyre manufacturing to Alor Star as well.
Press sources say that Yokohama Rubber is considering getting into the rubber processing sector in an effort to secure supply of natural rubber and to reduce rising raw material costs. General Manager of Corporate Purchasing and Strategic Sourcing, Keiichi Sekiya, said the Yokohama “wants to get closer to the rubber plantation people,” adding: “it doesn’t mean we want to get into the plantation business.” Should the company buy some land for growing rubber trees, this would only be for research and development purposes, he said, with the results shared with rubber growers.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
