Rubber & tire industry in numbers

 PROJECTS

Metso is expanding its stationary screen production by establishing a new manufacturing centre in Oradea, Romania. The products are primarily used in aggregates, minerals processing and metals refining industries and include rubber and polyurethane elements.

M&A & RESTRUCTURING

Dow Inc. plans to shut down three European facilities by the end of 2027: “right-sizing upstream regional capacity, reducing merchant sale exposure, and removing higher-cost, energy-intensive assets.” The impacted units include the basic siloxanes plant in Barry, UK, set for closure by mid-2026. Shutdown activities are expected to begin be completed by yearend 2027. About 800 jobs will be affected – in addition to the 1,500 roles globally targeted in Dow's $1bn cuts programme announced in January.

Bridgestone Corp. is selling its Thai carbon black manufacturing and sales subsidiary to Tokai Carbon. The deal covers Bridgestone Carbon Black (Thailand) Co. Ltd, located in Rayong, Thailand. Its facility has a nameplate capacity to produce 40ktpa of carbon black.

Orion SA announced plans to discontinue production at "three to five" carbon black lines at multiple sites in the Americas and EMEA by the end of 2025. The move is part of a strategy to focus maintenance spending on higher-performing lines. Orion did not specify which carbon black products or facilities will be affected, but referred to tire applications in its release.

Swedish industrial holding group Dacke Industri has acquired 80% of the shares in BTL-UK Ltd, a maker of ball and roller bearings, mechanical power transmission components, and motion transfer linkages. The transaction was completed on 3 July, and the current management team will retain the remaining 20% of shares, said Dacke Industri

Hallite Seals, a UK hydraulic sealing systems supplier and part of Michelin Group, is to acquire Italian seals maker Aston Seals. Founded in Carpi in 1999, Aston Seals operates in over 80 countries, and produces a range of hydraulic, pneumatic and custom-made sealing products for a wide range of applications.

MARKETS & BUSINESS

Goodyear is to temporarily suspend tire production at its facility in Izmit between 15 July and 13 Aug. under an inventory adjustment plan. According to ERJ Global Tire Report 2024, the facility in Izmit produces truck & bus and agricultural tires with a nameplate capacity of 3k tonnes/day.

Continental is increasing its use of sustainable fillers, including rice-based silicas, in the production of tires, the German group has announced. As part of this effort, Continental is using silica from Asian rice farming and Italian risotto rice production, manufactured by Solvay in Italy.

Biesterfeld has received distribution rights for biobased rubber filler Hemplizit across Europe. Manufactured by Solid Plant, the filler material is a plant-based, chemically unmodified product, made from hemp shives, and can be integrated into existing rubber compounds such as butyl innerliner compounds (BIIR) and SBR.

Brazil has extended definitive anti-dumping duties on Chinse tires for five-year period, following a third sunset review of the duties, initially imposed in 2009. The duties cover new passenger cars tire series 65 and 70 with rims sizes of 13 inches and 14 inches, and widths of 165mm, 175mm and 185mm, said Brazil’s chamber of foreign trade.

Indian tire exports rose 9% year-on-year in the fiscal year ended 31 March, according to the country’s Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA). Citing official statistics data by the ministry of commerce, the association said tire exports were over INR250bn (€2.5bn) during the fiscal year. Overall turnover of the industry exceeded INR1,000bn.

SHARE PRICES

Leading tire manufacturers’ share-price trends

Leading rubber product manufacturers’ share-price trends

MATERIALS

Natural rubber 

Natural rubber futures closed the week ended 3 July flat in quiet trading, reported Japan Exchange Group (JPX). “Market uncertainty and a lack of clear direction left traders largely on the sidelines,” it said in a trading update. Concerns about weakening consumer demand due to "an expected slowdown" in vehicle sales and uncertainty over US tariffs continued to keep prices within a tight range. 

JPX: Selected rubber futures price trends on major trading exchanges

(ERJ calculation for selected futures) 

Previous ERJ Week in Numbers