Kerala has put a proposal to rubberise all roads in the State, in order to curtail the downward spiral in rubber prices and to jolt domestic demand.
There are 32,000 kms of road under the control of PWD in the State apart from roads under the control of the panchayats. However, the State Government, despite urging the Centre to use rubberised tar (Rubber Modified Bitumen) on National Highways in the State, has not shown any interest to implement it. The prevailing situation in the State is that the repaired roads often get damaged within months and they are maintained by being tarred twice a year
There has been allegations from various quarters that a lobby of contractors and officials are working against the roads being rubberised in the State. Every year the PWD spends Rs 2000 crore towards repairing roads in the State. The PWD officials claim that lack of availability of rubber was the reason for the roads not being rubberised in the State.
However, in the event of decreasing price of rubber and decreasing domestic demand, the Rubber Board officials have ensured the availability of rubber to the PWD. If the road is tarred by mixing rubber it ensures durability and longevity for many years. Latex cum rubber is using for this process and only two % of it is needed for tarring. However, the cost will increase by 10 %.
The PWD department which shells out Rs 2000 crores every year for repairs will have to spend an extra 200 crores for rubberised tarring. However, in the comings years this will reduce the cost for repairing the roads.
The State Government has earmarked Rs 200 crores for paying subsidy to the rubber farmers. It has been pointed out that new demands should be created to arrest the declining prices of rubber in the domestic market. Rubber Board feels that the first step towards market intervention is by rubberising all roads in the State.
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6xf7sr/winter_tire) has announced the addition of the “Winter Tire Market in Czech Republic 2015-2019” report to their offering.
This report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the winter tire market in Czech Republicfor the period 2015-2019. Forecasts and analysis of the market have been done in terms of volume. The market size is calculated on the basis of the unit sales of winter tires in Czech Republic.
The winter tire market in Belgium is expected to witness the emergence of high-performance winter tires in the coming years. For instance, many tire manufacturers have introduced new eco-friendly winter performance tires for the Belgium market. The Winter i*cept evo by Hankook Tire Worldwide is specifically designed with an enhanced tread compound for better performance in all winter conditions for vehicles from every class. The market is expected to witness more innovations in the coming years.
According to the report, huge in terms of volume; however, the bulk of the revenue is dependent on the replacement tire market. The replacement tire market has also reduced the dependence of tire manufacturers on OEMs for revenue and sales. In the replacement tire market, manufacturers experience less pricing pressure compared to OEMs. Also, in the replacement tire market, manufacturers of winter tires will have their own distribution systems for both global and local markets.
Further, the report states that availability of substitutes is a major challenge affecting the market.