25 Apr 2013
ERJ staff report (BC)
Sutton, UK – Rather than ramping up as is normal in the spring season, tire makers are ramping down production amid a world-wide slump in tire demand, comments Mark Yost of ICIS.
One manufacturer is quoted as saying that it is sporadically shutting down one of its US production lines for “inventory control.” Another source said, “I won’t use the phrase ‘cautiously optimistic’ because I don’t believe we know what that means anymore.”
Market sources are quoted as saying that SBR is expected to at least roll over, if not drop by a few cents, when the April contract is settled. And nylon and acrylonitrile (ACN) prices are slipping because of reduced tire demand.
US tire makers have all but given up on growth in the first half of 2013, says Yost, but are hoping that the tire market improves along with better expectations for the US economy in the second half of 2013.
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