The price of the industrial chemical butadiene, which is used to produce synthetic rubber, has risen 33 per cent since August last year. Data from analyst Mintec has shown that “steady global demand and ongoing tight supplies” in Europe and…
Slowdown of commercial vehicle segment affects Bridgestone India’s OEM sales
Bridgestone Tyres India said that the current slowdown in the commercial vehicles segment in India has influenced the company’s OEM sales. Yet the sales in the replacement tire market had registered a slow growth. Tomio Fukuzumi, managing director for Bridgestone…
Hankook: More tyres in 2014 Great Catch rebate
Hankook Tire Corp. has expanded its Great Catch consumer mail-in rebate promotion for 2014 to include more passenger and light truck products as well as its newest Ventus tyres. Opening day for the company’s baseball-themed promotion is April 1, when…
Giant OTR tyre production begins at Bridgestone’s US plant
Although construction work at Bridgestone Americas’ new Aiken County plant in South Carolina is still ongoing, Tire Review reports that the production of 9-foot OTR tyres has already begun there. The tyre maker is building a 1.5 million-square-foot (approximately 140,000…
TBC launches 11 more Arctic Claw sizes
TBC Wholesale is further expanding its Arctic Claw studdable winter tyre line for the 2014-2015 winter season. The company is targeting later model vehicles and “progressive” original equipment fitments with 11 new sizes. That increases the Arctic Claw size lineup…
Vietnam becomes world’s third biggest rubber producer
Vietnam has surpassed Malaysia and India to become the world’s third biggest rubber producer, according to the latest statistics released early this month by the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC). The country produced 1.043 million tons of natural…
Sinopec cuts East, South China ex-works butadiene prices by Yuan 500/mt
China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, has cut its ex-works butadiene prices in East and South China by Yuan 500/mt ($81/mt) to Yuan 8,000/mt effective March 15, a company source confirmed Monday. This is equivalent to about $1,085/mt on…
Vietnam’s rubber exporters likely to face difficulties on low demand
Vietnam’s rubber exporters are likely to face further difficulties because of the low demand from major rubber importers, the Vietnam Rubber Association said on Tuesday. In 2013, Vietnam exported 1.078 million tons of rubber worth 2. 51 billion U.S. dollars,…
Chinese car tyre imports to U.S. at an all-time high
Chinese tyre makers, already the dominant players in the U.S. tyre import/export arena, strengthened their position considerably last year, raising their exports of passenger and light truck tyres to the U.S. by 55.8 and 75.8 percent, respectively, over 2012. Passenger…
Zamboanga rubber co-ops to get more SSFs
More shared service facilities (SSFs) will be turned over by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to rubber growers’ cooperatives and associations next month in Zamboanga Peninsula, particularly in the province Zamboanga Sibugay. Sitti Amina Jain, DTI regional director,…