Rubber & tire industry in numbers

PROJECTS

OCSiAl has opened a 60t/yr graphene nanotubes production plant at Stara Pazova near Belgrade and plans to double production with a second synthesis unit next year. Construction of a production facility in Luxembourg is the next step in the company’s global expansion programmes.

Kumho Mitsui Chemicals has started up an expansion project to add capacity for methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) in Yeosu, in the southern coast of South Korea. The plant, a 50/50 JV between Kumho Petrochemical and Mitsui Chemicals, has capacity to produce 410ktpa of the urethane feedstock. With the expansion, production capacity at the plant will increase by 200ktpa to 610ktpa.

Aeolus Tyres is raising Yuan300m (€39m) for an ongoing Yuan1.47bn project to manufacture giant engineering tires at its site in Jiaozuo City, Henan: adding capacity for 20k units/year. The site can currently produce 130k units/yr of OTR tires and 1.2m truck tires. An earlier project is converting the lines to expand production of giant engineering tires to just under 111k units/yr, while eliminating capacity for the manufacture of 1m TBRs.

BUSINESS

Nexen Tire reported a 2.3% year-on-year increase in Q3 sales to KRW708.5 billion (€ 473.4 million), largely driven by higher sales in the European market, which grew by 11.9% year-on-year. Production of 18” and larger tires accounted for 35.9% of Nexen’s overall sales, 3.9% higher than in the same period last year.

Hexpol AB posted a 14.0% decline in Q3 earnings (EBIT) to SEK800m (€70.0m) on sales of SEK4,977m, 9.9% lower than in the same period last year. For the first nine months of 2024, EBIT was down 7.3% year-on-year at SEK2,616m, while year-to-date sales declined 8.4% to SEK15,743m.

Finland-based manufacturer Reka Rubber reported third quarter sales of €6m down 8% year-on-year, while EBITDA grew from €100k to €500k. For the first nine months, sales declined 12% year-on-year to €20.7m, while segment earnings, almost halved from €1.4m to €800k, parent Reka Industrial reported.

Elkem’s silicones division reported Q3/24 earnings (EBITDA) of NOK202m (€17m), up from a loss of NOK268m in Q3/23, on sales 20% higher at NOK3.8bn, as volumes grew 36% to 105kt. For Q1-3/24,sales rose 2% year-on-year to NOK11bn billion, helped by 9% growth in volumes to 276kt, while earnings reached NOK145m versus a loss of NOK672m in Q1-3/23.

TIRE MARKETS

During the first nine months of 2024, global OE consumer tire demand fell 3% year-on-year, reflecting a 6% contraction in Europe, a 1% dip in North America but 1% growth in China, Michelin reported. All three regions saw significant declines in Q3/24, including a 9% reverse in Europe versus Q3/23.

For Q3/24, ETRMA reported year-on-year increases of 5% in sales of replacement consumer tires and 2% for replacement truck & bus tires, while demand for agricultural tires and moto & scooter tires grew  5% and 13% respectively. For Q1-Q3, demand for consumer tires grew 3%, sales of truck & bus tires fell 2%, agricultural tire sales increased 3%, and two-wheeler tire sales also came in 3% higher.

ETRMA: Replacement tire sales development to Q2/H1 2024

Sources: Europool ETRMA 

SHARE PRICES

Tire company stocks were generally in marked decline this week, possibly due to concerns about the outcome of the US election and its potential impact on companies importing products into the country.

Leading manufacturers’ share-price trends

MATERIALS MARKETS

Natural rubber

Natural rubber prices in India have continued on a downward track seen over recent weeks: on 23 Oct RSS4 was trading at around $219/100kg on the Kottayam exchange. The data posted by the ANRPC marks a clear end to the surge in prices for the commodity, which spiked from around $248 to over $294 between mid-July and early August. Other rubber commodities tracked by the association have remained relatively stable, with the exception of RSS3 in  Bangkok, which had risen sharply to approach $301/100kg at the end of September.

Malaysia's natural rubber (NR) production for the month of August grew 14.9% year-on-year to just under 36,000 tonnes, according to latest official data. Output for the month was, however, down 5.2% compared 37,960 tonnes reported in July.

Global natural rubber (NR) futures closed the trading week ended 25 Oct lower across all major exchanges, according to the latest market report from Japan Exchange Group (JPX).

Rubber futures declined by around 6% week-on-week on Osaka exchange, by 0.7% and 0.4% respectively on China’s SHFE and INE exchanges, and by 2.0% on Singapore’s SICOM exchange, JPX reported.

 JPX: Selected NR futures price trends on major trading exchanges

(ERJ calculations for selected futures)