Rubber & tire industry in numbers

PROJECTS

Hankook has broken ground on an project to add 800k units/yr production capacity for truck and bus tires at its site in Rácalmás, Hungary – expected to create 450 new jobs. The Hungarian unit has a current capacity of 17m tires/yr for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. Hankook operates eight tire production sites worldwide with a total capacity of about 100m units/yr.

Apollo Tyres expects to increase its capex for 2025, with a particular focus on increasing consumer tire capacity. Of about INR12-13bn, Kumar said about INR750m was earmarked for maintenance and another INR800million for capacity expansion in India and Europe. Investments will go towards adding 7-8% production capacity for passenger car tires in India and “slightly more” in Europe, particularly Hungary.

Energy storage and infrastructure company VTTI and Pyrum Innovations are to jointly develop an end-of-life tire (ELT) recycling plant at VTTI’s Antwerp Terminal. The  ‘thermolysis’ plant will have an ELT processing capacity of up to 90ktpa – implemented in two phases of 45ktpa.

Nitta Corp. is to relocate and expand its rubber-based industrial components manufacturing site in Pune, India: moving it within the Haveli Taluki region, in the eastern Indian state of Maharashtra. The new factory will enhance production of conveyor belt products, hydraulic hose, tube fittings and automotive components. Nitta has earmarked INR835m (€9m) for the construction of the factory, to be completed in January 2026.

Italy-based thermoplastics and TPE materials producer Sirmax has completed a renovation of its plant in Palwal, India and started land-preparation for the greenfield construction of a new Indian plant in Hosur near Bangalore, which will be operational from 2027. The Hosur plant will be its third in India and 14th globally. The group is already present in India with a plant at Valsad – controlled by the Autotech-Sirmax JV. The new investments, at Palwal and Hosur, amount to about $10m. Production capacity at Palwal has doubled to 30ktpa.

Waste tire pyrolysis firm Pyrum Innovations has completed assembly of the "world’s largest" grinding mill for recovered carbon black (rCB). The unit will “significantly expand” capacity at Pyrum’s grinding and pelletising location in Germany’s Saar region and drive earnings. Developed by Hosokawa, the new mill boasts an input material capacity of 1,650 kg/hr, with an output material rating of 1,350 kg/hr.

M&A & RESTRUCTURING

Yokohama Rubber Co. is closing its 90-employee, agricultural tire plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The 10-year-old Yokohama TWS North America facility was part of the Japanese group's €2.1bn acquisition of Trelleborg Wheel Systems in May 2023 – at which stage it was listed as employing 150 people.

MARKETS

New car registrations in the EU fell 2.6% year-on-year in January, reported the ACEA. The combined petrol and diesel EU market-share fell to 39.4%, from 48.7% in January 2024. Petrol car registrations saw a decline across the EU of 18.9%. BEVs achieved a 37% increase in their share of registrations in January, compared to the same month last year, to gain a 15% market-share against 11% in 2024. HEVs were the most successful category, however, grabbing 34.9% of the EU market with 290,014 units and increasing their new registrations 18.4%.

BUSINESS

Polish tire maker Debica SA posted estimated revenues of PLN2,557m (€617m) and net profit of PLN78m for 2024. In 2023, Debica achieved ‘sales of PLN2,992m and a net profit of PLN284m. Last year’s performance was affected in particular “by limited production capacity and lower selling-prices in transactions. Earnings also reflected an “advance payment received towards compensation for fire in the amount of PLN151m, as well as the costs still incurred in connection with the fire that took place in August 2023.”

Swedish waste tire recycler Scandinavian Enviro Systems posted 2024 net revenues of SEK170.8m (€15.3m), up from a prior-year level of SEK13.9m – largely reflecting 'milestone payments' of SEK132.4m via its Infiniteria JV with Michelin and equity firm Antin. Enviro posted a post-tax loss of SEK53.9m, an improvement on a prior-year loss of SEK92.3m. For 2025, Enviro aims to commission the JV recycling plant in Uddevella, Sweden, designed to process 35ktpa of ELTs.

Cooper-Standard Holdings posted a 51.7% year-on-year increase in operating income to $69.8m (€67.1m), on 2024 sales of $2.73bn, 3.0% below the prior-year level. The results included a $36.2m increase in Q4 operating income versus the prior-year final quarter to $31.7m, on sales down 1.9% year-on-year to $660.8m. In 2024, CS received total net new business awards representing $181.4m in incremental anticipated future annualised sales – including $105.8m on EV platforms.

Prism Worldwide and Sherwood Industries have formed a partnership to introduce end-of-life tire materials into extruded thermoplastic elastomer sheets. Sherwood produced more than 7.5m sq ft of extruded rubber sheets over four production lines in 2024. Prism is now seeking to invest in technology, equipment and expansion after recently announcing a $40m funding round.

New York-based Tiger Infrastructure Partners has made a “transformational growth investment” in Bolder Industries, a Boulder, Colorado-based recycler of end-of-life tires (ELTs). In a 10 Feb statement, the New York-based private equity firm said its partnership with Bolder "would enable the buildout" of new facilities – without disclosing the investment amount.

Kossan Rubber Industries reported 2024 sales up year-on-year by almost 20% to RM1.91bn (€0.41bn), and profit before tax up to RM1.58m from RM34 m. Gloves division revenue rose 23% to RM1.59m, with PBT at RM104.1m versus a 2023 loss of RM26.4m. By contrast, technical rubber products revenue was slightly down year-on-year, to RM202.2m from RM 204.6m, with its PBT fell 17.5% year-on-year to RM30.9m.

For 2024, Italy-based thermoplastics and TPE materials producer Sirmax posted sales of €420m, up from €410m in 2023, helped by a 10%+ increase in global production volumes, particularly in India, Brazil, and the US. Europe accounted for 65% of group turnover.

SHARE PRICES

Leading tire manufacturers’ share-price trends

Leading rubber product manufacturers’ share-price trends

MATERIALS

TSR20 prices fell by just under 10 €cents/kg CIF in the final week of January, the Rubber Trade Association of Europe (RTAE) reported. The pricing decline was linked "solely to the adoption the now prevailing lower ocean freight rates at the change of the shipment month,” UK-based RTAE said in its latest monthly digest.However, over the final days of January, the commodity registered a slight upward movement: from 203 €cents/kg CIF to 205 €cents/kg CIF.

Malaysian natural rubber production increased 24.6% year-on-year in Q4/24 to 117kt. Sequentially, NR output increased by 10.7%, up from 106kt in Q3/24. Production in December stood at 38kt, up 26.2% year-on-year but down 5.1% versus November. NR exports at 44kt in December were up 1.8% on the prior-month. With a 49% share, China was the main destination for Malaysian NR exports, followed by Germany (12.9%), the UAE (7.3%) and the US (3.7%).

Global rubber futures ended the trading week ended 21 Feb mixed across major exchanges in the Far East, according to the latest Japan Exchange Group (JPX) report on developments in the market. Speculative buying persisted for a second consecutive week in China, was a notable factor, said JPX, noting that equities there “continued to rally despite sharply lower vehicle sales at the end of January.”

JPX: Selected rubber futures price trends on major trading exchanges

(ERJ calculation for selected futures)

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