Rubber & tire industry in numbers

PROJECTS

Tosoh Corp. is considering an expansion of its chloroprene rubber (CR) production capacity to tap into expected medium- to long-term growth in demand. CR demand began to recover during the fiscal year ended 31 March, leading to higher shipments, although rates varied by region, Tosoh reported.

Cariflex inaugurated “the world’s largest” polyisoprene latex production facility, a $355m (€315m) project on Jurong Island, Singapore to significantly expand its global manufacturing capacity for synthetic latex used in medical and protective applications. The subsidiary of South Korea’s DL Chemical said the new facility began operations in November 2024 and is designed for modular expansion. Once fully ramped up, it will double the group’s 2023 capacity for polyisoprene latex.

Sumitomo Rubber Industries started 24-hour hydrogen production using a newly installed Yamanashi Model P2G (power-to-gas) system at its Shirakawa car and truck  bus tire plant in Fukushima. The unit consumes around 10.4kt/month of new rubber. By producing green hydrogen on-site, SRI expects to cut emissions – scope 1, 2 and 3 –   emissions by 1kt a year.

Cincinnati, Ohio-based US Medical Glove Company (USMGC) has signed a lease for a new manufacturing site in the Cincinnati, Ohio, towards build a 'fully domestic supply chain' for medical and surgical gloves. The privately funded project will involve an investment of $200-240m (€180-214m) to produce nitrile rubber latex raw materials. USMGC currently produces over 2bn/yr units of gloves at its HQ campus in Harvard, Illinois and 120m units/yr as well as polyisoprene materials in Honea Path, South Carolina,

Vancouver, British Columbia-based Klean Industries and KBR signed a 'heads of terms' agreement to jointly develop and license projects to recover valuable materials, such as recovered carbon black (rCB) and tire pyrolysis oil, from end-of-life tires (ELTs). The first joint project is planned for Victoria, Australia.

M&A & RESTRUCTURING

Japan-based Denka Co. will record an extraordinary loss of Yen16.1bn (€97m) in its fiscal year to 31 March, due to an impairment loss from the cessation of its US chloroprene rubber (CR) operation – Denka Performance Elastomer (DPE) – in LaPlace, Louisiana for an ‘indefinite’ period. It will continue to supply customers through existing inventory and the Omi plant in Japan. DPE, it noted, has faced “significant cost, production and other challenges” including unexpected pollution control requirements. The DPE facility employs 250 people and is 70% owned by Denka and 30% owned by Diana Elastomers Inc., part of Mitsui & Co.

MARKETS & BUSINESS

Replacement consumer tire sales in Europe rose 3% year-on-year in Q1/25, led by a 14% jump in all-season tire volumes, the ETRMA reported. Consumer tire demand, including summer, winter and all-season passenger car tires, rose to 58.7m units in the first quarter, up from 57.3m a year earlier. Summer tire volumes fell 3% and winter tire sales rose 5%. Truck & bus tire sales fell 4% to 2.7m units. Agricultural tire sales also dropped 4% to 203k units.

Hankook & Co. reported posted consolidated sales of KRW 4.9 trn (€3.2bn) for Q1/25, up 133.4% year-on-year, reflecting the first-time inclusion of Hanon Systems. Group operating profit, however, fell 11.1% to KRW354.6bn. The tire segment posted sales of KRW 2.3trn, up 10.3% year-on-year, while operating profit for the segment declined 16.3% to KRW 333.6bn. EV tires made up 23% of OE sales for passenger cars and light trucks, up 6 percentage points, while 18” and larger passenger car tires made up 47.1% of total passenger and light truck tire sales. Regional share for large tires was highest in China (64.7%), followed by Korea (58.5%), North America (57.1%), and Europe (39.1%).

Malaysian major rubber gloves maker Hartalega posted an operating profit of RM54m for its fiscal year to 31 March, up from a prior-year loss of RM23m. Sales grew 41% year-on-year to RM1.8bn, helped by a 40% increase in sales volumes and higher average selling prices.

Cabot Corp. is executing fixed cost and procurement initiatives, through which it expects to achieve $30m (€26.5m) in savings in fiscal 2025. The supplier is also adjusting the timing of some of its capital projects to align with customer demand, with Capex now forecast at $250-270m (€22-243m), versus an earlier estimate of $250-300m.

Houston, Texas-based Orion SA’s rubber carbon black segment reported Q1/25 sales down 4.5% year-on-year to $317m, primarily due to lower oil prices and unfavourable foreign exchange effects. Adjusted earnings (EBITDA) fell 28.9% to $40.8m. Volumes rose 2.5% to 190kt on higher demand in the Americas and Asia-Pacific.

Semperit Group reported first quarter revenue down 13.8% year-on-year to €151.7m and earnings (EBITDA) halved to €11.1m. Sales at the Semperit Industrial Applications (SIA) division, which includes hoses and profiles, fell 4.7% to €65.5m, while earnings fell 17.4% to €11.3m. The Engineered Applications (SEA) division, comprising form, belting, and liquid silicone businesses, reported revenue of €86.2m, down 19.7% year-on-year, while earnings plunged 74.5% to €4m. Group expenses fell 1.0% to €154.6m as cost-cutting measures continued. Materials costs reached €76m, slightly up from €74.8m a year ago. Personnel expenses dropped 2.0% year-on-year to €56.7m,and other operating expenses by 6.8% to €21.9m, helped by lower freight charges and cuts in consulting, legal and audit services.

Pirelli reported adjusted earnings (adjusted EBIT) for Q1/25 up 6.5% year-on-year to €280m, on 3.7% higher sales of €1.75bn. Organic revenue grew 4.7% compared to the year before but was impacted by negative effects from forex and hyperinflation in Argentina and Turkey. Total volumes rose 0.8% year-on-year, mainly reflecting gains in the large-tire segment. Earnings improved with a positive contribution from price/mix (€42.3m) and efficiencies (€25m), which more than offset the increased cost of raw materials (€22.2m) and inflation of input costs (€24.5m).

India-based PCBL reported a 5.3% year-on-year increase in consolidated sales volume in its carbon black business to 150kt for the final quarter of its fiscal 2025. Tire business accounted for 90kt of volumes. Of the total carbon black sales volume, domestic sales stood at 86.7kt, while international sales volume stood at 63.4kt, up 16.8% versus Q4/24. Group consolidated revenue from operations increased by 8.2% year-on-year to INR20.9bn (€220m) but earnings (EBITDA) fell 4.5% to INR3bn, with earnings per tonne in the ‘carbon black’ business of INR17,655.

Toyo Tires posted a 13.7% year-on-year fall in earnings to Yen22.4bn (€136m) on 6.2% higher Q1/25 sales of Yen135.5bn. Earnings fell due to higher costs, including the rising raw materials prices, production costs and SG&A expenses. In Japan, Toyo saw a 35.5% year-on-year decline in Q1/25 earnings to Yen14bn, though in North America and Europe it recorded earnings gains of 24% and 93% to Yen5.3 billion and Yen4.1 billion respectively. Toyo’s ‘tire business unit’ posted net sales of Yen123bn, up 6.2% year-on-year, while earnings fell 14.6% to Yen22bn. The ‘automotive parts business unit’ also posted a 7% year-on-year increase in sales to Yen11.7bn and earnings up 62% year-on-year to Yen509m.

SHARE PRICES

Leading tire manufacturers’ share-price trends

Leading rubber product manufacturers’ share-price trends

MATERIALS

Natural rubber 

Natural rubber (NR) futures posted modest gains during the first trading week of May, recovering slightly after two months of subdued pricing influenced by ongoing global trade tensions. According to the Japan Exchange Group, key Far East rubber markets closed the week ended 9 May “slightly firmer” amid fresh speculative buying. The shift in sentiment followed renewed US-China tariff discussions reportedly held in Geneva earlier in the month. The increases followed monetary easing by China’s central bank and additional measures aimed at injecting an estimated $139 billion into the financial system.

JPX: Selected rubber futures price trends on major trading exchanges

 (ERJ calculation for selected futures)

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