Rubber & tire industry in numbers

PROJECTS

Salina Economic Development Authority (SEDA), Oklahoma has filed details of a project to build a €600m tire factory in Tulsa. The American Tire Works project will have capacity to produce 4.3m passenger car tires/year and create 500 jobs at full capacity. SEDA "will be the owner of the factory," with Black Donuts Oy serving as technology & engineering partner.

UPM-Kymmene Corp. provided an update on the progress of the UPM Biochemicals project to establish a €1.2bn biorefinery, with capacity to produce 220ktpa of bio-based products, in Leuna, Germany: “Having initiated commissioning and start-up of the Leuna Biorefinery in late 2024, quality assurance checks identified certain corrective works required in the sugars-to-chemicals process.” These works, it said, “will take a few months”. Meanwhile, it added, “sequential start-up in the other units continues, [with] integrated commercial production of the site expected to start in H2 2025.”

Russian tire maker JSC Cordiant has resumed commercial production at the former Bridgestone factory in Ulyanovsk, Russia. Cordian said it started the trial runs at the plant in November last year after being idle for two and a half years. Renamed the Gislaved Ulyanovsk plant, the unit currently has the capacity to produce 2.4m units/yr of passenger car tires.

Nokian Tyres is building a ‘modern and cost-effective warehouse’ for passenger car tires in Nokia to streamline its logistics and supply-chain processes. Set for completion by the end of 2027, the unit will be built land owned by Nokian and adjacent to the company’s existing logistics centre.

M&A & RESTRUCTURING

Michelin and three French trade unions (CFDT, CFE-CGC and SUD) have signed an agreement concerning support measures for employees at the Vannes and Cholet sites, which are being closed down. Measures include internal mobility within the group, end-of-career termination, transition to retirement, and external mobility options, Michelin said 24 March.

In Germany, over 77k employees and supporters representing energy-intensive industries, including chemicals and polymers, took part in a nationwide ‘day of action’ to protest against ongoing threats to industrial jobs. Unions IG Metall and IGBCE together called on “politicians and employers to stop job cuts in industry, to get Germany's most important guarantor of prosperity back on track, to reduce competitive disadvantages and to invest massively in the modernisation of the location.” The protests took place 15 March in Hanover, Cologne, Frankfurt, Leipzig and Stuttgart.

Tire trade and aftermarket expos The Tire Cologne (TTC) in Cologne, Germany and Autopromotec in Bologna, Italy, have “once again coordinated their dates.” TTC will take place in even years, Autopromotec in odd years “to avoid overlaps and be able to optimally use the market potential of both events,” the organisers stated.

BUSINESS

Evonik reported a 25% year-on-year increase in earnings (adjusted EBITDA) to €2.0bn for 2024, on sales about level at €15.2bn. Sales in the Smart Materials division, which includes the group’s silica/silanes units, came in flat at €4.5bn, while divisiona earnings grew 11% year-on-year to €600m. Evonik expects a group-wide efficiency programme to yield cost reductions of €400m by yearend 2026. For 2025, it expects earnings of between €2.0bn and €2.3bn.

For Q2 of its fiscal 2025, which started 1 Sept 2024, Top Glove reported sales up 61% year-on-year at RM884 million (€185m) while earnings (profit after tax) reached RM41m, 203% above the prior-year level. Volumes came in 58% higher compared to the same period in fiscal 2024. Top Glove noted an average 1% decline in natural rubber latex concentrate prices to RM6.80/kg during the quarter as well as an 8% drop in nitrile latex prices to $0.86/kg.

China’s natural rubber (NR) major Hainan Rubber is looking to expand its industrial overseas layout, potentially expanding in Laos and Cambodia. This includes plans to apply its capabilities in planting, processing and trade to promote the development of the Lao rubber industry and potentially build an ‘advanced’ rubber factory in Cambodia.

Austrian rubber products manufacturer Semperit posted 2024 earnings up 21.1% year-on-year to €85m, while earnings after tax reached €11.5 million, up from a loss of €17.1m in 2023. Group sales came in at €677m, down 0.8% compared to the year before. Semperit Industrial Applications, which includes hoses and profiles, saw sales dip 11.3% year-on-year to €293.5m, but earnings grew 11.4% to €52.2m. The Semperit Engineered Applications (SIA) division, including form, belting, and Rico, increased revenue by 9.1% to €383.0m; of which €94.6m came from five months of contribution by the Rico LSR operation. SIA earnings fell 4.8% year-on-year to €48.1m, with Rico accounting for €16m of the amount. Group expenses decreased by 3.6% year-on-year to €587.9m, reflecting a 9.1% or €28m decline in cost of materials. The group expects earnings of between €70m and €90m this year and €120m by 2026.

Michelin has launched a pilot project to create digital product passports (DPPs) for tires ahead of the European eco-design regulation adopted in July 2024. DPPs are a requirement of the European eco design for sustainable products regulation.

Bridgestone Corp. is raising prices for its commercial tires in Japan, in response to “soaring” raw materials and logistics costs. Summer and winter tires, tubes and flaps will see hikes of 6-8%. The summer tires will take effect 1 June, while winter tire hikes start on 1 Sept.

TUV Rheinland is expanding its testing capacity worldwide to meet the growing global demand for testing services related to PFAS. The move is in response to an increase of over 30% year-on-year in demand, according to a 20 March statement from the German firm.

SHARE PRICES

Leading tire manufacturers’ share-price trends

Leading rubber product manufacturers’ share-price trends

MATERIALS

Natural rubber

Natural rubber markets were generally subdued last week in quiet trading across major markets, according to Japan Exchange Group (JPX). The trading week ended 22 March closed mixed in Far East markets with RSS3 futures edging lower and TSR20 prices making marginal gains. Trading remained within tight ranges, with overall volume declining, said JPX in its weekly report issued 24 March. Position liquidation, it noted, was observed across Japan’s OSE, China’s INE, and Singapore’s SICOM markets, as reflected in lower open interest.

JPX: Selected rubber futures price trends on major trading exchanges

 (ERJ calculation for selected futures)

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