Rubber & tire industry in numbers

PROJECTS

China’s largest tire maker Zhongce Rubber (ZC Rubber) is set to launch an A-share offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) on 23 May. The group will issue 87.45 million shares, representing 10% of its post-issuance share capital, with the aim of raising Yuan 4.85bn (€596m) – to be allocated to five major tire-related projects in China and Thailand.

Apollo Tyres Ltd unveiled plans to invest INR15bn (€157m) during its 2026 fiscal year to expand production capacity across operations in India and Europe. The investment will fund new capacity for 4,000 passenger car tires per day at its Gyongyoshalasz facility in Hungary. A similar expansion is also planned at Apollo's Chinnapandur plant in Andhra Pradesh, India.

The Council for Development of Cambodia said Cambodia attracted two milestone tire projects, including a $242m investment in a greenfield tire plant in Preah Sihanouk province. The other project is a $93m tire expansion plan at the Qilu Special Economic Zone in Svay Rieng province.

Arlanxeo and TSRC inaugurated their newly relocated and expanded joint venture nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) plant in Nantong, in the Chinese province of Jiangsu. The new plant produces a broader portfolio of NBR products with designed capacity increased from 30ktpa to 40ktpa.

NVH systems supplier Vibracoustic has expanded its production capacity in India with the relocation of one of its production units to a new site. The Vibracoustic Morinda facility, in Punjab, has been operational since October last year and currently employs 830 people. The move has resulted in a capacity increase of 40%.

Bolder Industries has signed a €32m grant agreement with the European Commission’s EU Innovation Fund to support the construction of a new tire recycling facility in Antwerp. For the first phase, the facility is expected to process over 6m end-of-life tires per year, to produce 18ktpa of recovered carbon black and 21ktpa of pyrolysis oil.

Wacker Chemie AG has expanded its speciality silicones production in China with the addition of a new facility in Zhangjiagang, in the east coast province of Jiangsu. The unit will manufacture silicone fluids, silicone emulsions and silicone elastomer gels. The group currently generates 37% of its overall sales in Asia, with China accounting for about half.

M&A & RESTRUCTURING

Hyosung Advanced Materials Corp. (HAMC) has progressed the divestment of its steel tire reinforcement business, valued at KRW1.5trn (€1bn): selecting a shortlist of qualified preliminary acquisition candidates. HAMC produces steel-, polyamide- and polyester-based tire reinforcement products at facilities in Korea, China, the US, Vietnam and Europe.

Japanese trading group Sojitz Corp. is acquiring a 66.5% stake in Nippon A&L Inc., a producer of SBR latexes and ABS resins. Nippon A&L was founded in 1999 by Sumitomo Chemical and Mitsui Chemicals in Osaka and supplies SBR latex for lithium-ion battery anode binders and paper processing.

MARKETS & BUSINESS

The European Commission on 21 May launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of passenger car and light vehicle (PC/LT) tires from China, from 1 Jan 2024 to 31 Dec 2024. A petition claimed that dumping margins of Chinese PC/LT tires were between 41% and 104%. The complaint highlighted a 51% surge in Chinese tire imports to the EU since 2021, particularly in the budget segment.

Sumitomo Rubber Industries reported business profit for Q1/25 down 39% year-on-year to Yen14.1bn (€87m), on 1.2% lower consolidated sales of Yen288bn. The tire business reported a 0.2% increase in sales for the three-month period to Yen244.5bn, but earnings fell 40% year-on-year to Yen11bn, on higher costs, including those associated to its plant closure in the US.

Yokohama Rubber Co. reported a 3.2% year-on-year decline in Q1/25 earnings (business profit) to Yen24.1bn (€147m), on 9% higher sales of Yen275bn. The group linked the decline in earnings to one-time costs related to the acquisition and consolidation of Goodyear’s OTR business during the quarter.

Tokai Carbon posted a 1.7% year-on-year decline in Q1 sales for the carbon black business to Yen38.9bn (€240m) and operating income down 20.6 to Yen4.5bn – primarily due to a decline in selling prices. Also, parallel operation of a new production base in Thailand alongside the existing facility is set to weigh on earnings until Q3/26.

SHARE PRICES

Leading tire manufacturers’ share-price trends

Leading rubber product manufacturers’ share-price trends

MATERIALS

Natural rubber 

Natural rubber (NR) futures continued to gain last week as global trade tensions eased slightly. All major Far East exchanges reported week-on-week gains during the second trading week of May, reported Japan Stock Exchange (JPX). In related news, JPX noted that China's total vehicle sales at the end of April declined by 325,866 units to 2,589,610 units, due to the impact of US tariffs. Nissan, it added, announced plans to close two domestic factories – Oppama and Shonan – and that it is considering shutting down operations in Mexico, India, Argentina, and South Africa.

JPX: Selected rubber futures price trends on major trading exchanges

 (ERJ calculation for selected futures)

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