Rubber & tire industry in numbers

PROJECTS

Tosoh Corp. plans to invest Yen75bn (€450m) in the construction of a second chloroprene production facility at its Nanyo Complex in Shunan City, Yamaguchi, southern Japan. Construction work is set to start in spring 2027 and commercial operation scheduled for spring 2030. The new plant will expand production capacity for Tosoh’s Skyprene-branded CR by 22ktpa. Tosoh currently manufactures CR at its site in Nanyo, Japan. In 2019, it launched a debottlenecking project to raise capacity of the unit by 3 ktpa to 37ktpa.

Vibracoustic has expanded its production and assembly capabilities for air spring sleeves in Lerma, Mexico. The project adds to a series of expansion projects at the NVH components site in 2024, to enhance supply to the North American market.

Ineos Olefins & Polymers Europe has begun using pyrolysis oil-derived from recycled plastics to produce “virgin-quality” polyolefins at its Lavera site in southern France. The polymers, said Ineos, can be used for applications including automotive tires and fuel tanks, as well as food & beverage, healthcare and infrastructure industries.

Black Donuts has flagged the upcoming official launch – on 16 July – of its InTire Labs material research centre for the tire & rubber industry. Located in Tampere, Finland, the unit will offer a new R&D platform for tire makers, rubber product producers and raw material suppliers worldwide. 

M&A & RESTRUCTURING

More than 700 employees from the central German ‘chemical triangle’ have protested against the threat of cutbacks and closures at Dow Chemical’s sites in Böhlen and Schkopau. Dow has put central production facilities at the sites under review for cost reasons, with temporary shutdowns or permanent closure being considered, trade union IGBCE reported. This, it said, also applies to the central steam cracker, which produces important chemical raw materials from crude gasoline and is therefore central to the local value-chain.

Steinl Group is set to close its LWB Automation GmbH facility in Weinheim, Germany by 30 June, as part of a wider strategic realignment of its business activities. The restructuring will consolidate the group's automation capabilities under LWB Steinl Machinery in Altdorf, which will take over as the central unit for automation solutions and customer service.

The world's largest producer of phenol and acetone Ineos Phenol is to permanently stop production at its site in Gladbeck, at a date to be confirmed. “This is the consequence of Europe’s total lack of energy competitiveness and the blind devotion to carbon taxation which is leading to a mass de-industrialisation across the continent, said Jim Ratcliffe, Ineos chairman.

Netzsch (Germany) and Zhejiang Mesnac have signed a strategic cooperation agreement, covering “in-depth collaboration in areas such as technological R&D and global market expansion.”  The aim is to combine Netzsch 's advanced technology in high-end equipment manufacturing with Zhejiang Mesnac's expertise in intelligent turnkey industrial solutions.

Mutares has completed the acquisition of automotive interior products producer NBHX Trim Europe from Ningbo Lawrence Automotive Interiors.  NBHX Trim Europe is based in Bruchsal, Germany, with plants also in Rolem, Romania and Abergavenny, UK. It generated sales of around €200m in 2024 and employs around 2,000 people.

Synthomer has completed its sale of William Blythe Ltd to its management team ‘alongside H2 Equity Partners’ for £30m. The final net cash proceeds of the divestment, announced in early May, received at completion amounted to £25m after adjustments for working capital, debt and debt-like items, and will be used to reduce the London-based group's debt.

MARKETS & BUSINESS

Pirelli reported continuing differences between its main shareholders Sinochem investment vehicle Marco Polo International and Camfin SpA, over the control of the Italian tire manufacturing group. Through MPI, Sinochem holds a majority share of 37% in Pirelli, while Camfin, led by Italian businessman and former Pirelli CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera, holds a 26.4% stake in the tire company.

The Indian government has imposed five-year anti-dumping duties on imports of insoluble sulphur from China and Japan. This followed an investigation by its directorate general of trade remedies (DGTR) last year, upon a petition by Oriental Carbon and Chemicals. Duties range from $259 to $358 per tonne, with Chinese importers facing a flat duty of $307/tonne. Among Japanese companies, Shikoku Chemicals will be charged $259/tonne, while all other Japanese exporters will face the maximum rate of $358/tonne.

Total sales among companies participating respondents to the ERJ Tire & Rubber Machinery Survey 2025, both this year and last, came in at $3,735m: a year-on-year increase of 14.1%, compared to the 18.6% gain recorded in 2024. Sales among the 10 largest Chinese-based manufacturers reached $1,789m, a 19.8% increase on the level recorded by the same suppliers in the 2024 survey. Respondents based in Europe reported an 11.9% year-on-year growth in sales to $1,529m. In a similar analysis within last year’s survey, European-based companies registered a 22.0% overall increase. 

SHARE PRICES

Leading tire manufacturers’ share-price trends

Leading rubber product manufacturers’ share-price trends

MATERIALS

Natural rubber 

UK-based Rubber Trade Association of Europe reported that TSR 20 prices remained low throughout May at around 165 €cents/kg CIF. Prices rose slightly to 170.00 €cents/kg mid-May before falling back to nearer 160.00 cents/kg, RTAE reported in its latest monthly digest. Although many threatened US tariffs were postponed until July, the economic outlook remains weak, said the rubber trade body, noting that uncertainty inhibits business and trade.  “The consequential outlook for rubber prices is likely to remain depressed with the transactional tariff regime of the US administration not only for its innate peculiarity but because of [its] unreliability,” said RTAE.

Global rubber futures ended the trading week to 13 June "mixed to slightly higher" across major rubber exchanges, Japan Exchange Group (JPX) reported. Prices, said JPX, were briefly supported by a strong rally in crude oil after Israel launched strikes on Iran's nuclear installations. Another factor, it said, was the easing of trade tensions between the US and China eased after the latter country agreed to resume shipments of rare-earth metals to the US. 

JPX: Selected rubber futures price trends on major trading exchanges

(ERJ calculation for selected futures) 

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