Yokohama widens raw-material sourcing to cut production costs

Tokyo – Yokohama Rubber Co. (YRC) is expanding its raw-material supplier base as part of a drive for “drastic reduction of product costs,” with particular focus on rubber chemicals and metals.

In its 2026 integrated report published 30 Sept, the Japanese tire & rubber group said it was increasing procurement from suppliers in 'emerging countries' alongside its existing sources.

YRC said it was applying its own quality standards to new suppliers while shortening evaluation lead times and increasing information-sharing between departments.

As part of the drive, YRC forecast that the number of newly adopted suppliers in 2025 would be 50% above the average for the previous five years, while the number of materials for which it had achieved cost reductions would be 45% higher.

The procurement initiative forms part of a broader cost-reduction programme combining raw-material purchasing reforms with lower manufacturing and processing costs.

YRC president and COO Shinji Seimiya said projected benefits from the group's fundamental manufacturing cost-reduction measures had increased from an initial Yen6.5 billion (€365 million) to more than Yen20 billion.

Seimiya did not provide a timeline or further details about the achieved cost-reduction.

However, he said, the achievement was “not the result of one-time measures but rather the outcome of continuous efforts to improve manufacturing costs at our plants and raw material procurement reform.”