The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) has determined that passenger vehicle and light truck (PLT) tyres imported from Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand are being sold in the USA at prices that materially injure the local tyre industry. In addition, the U.S. Department of Commerce has determined that Vietnam’s government is subsidising PLT tyres that are then sold in the USA at “less than fair value.”
On 28 May 2021 growing Thai tyre retail chain, B-Quik opened two new centres on the Tiwanon road in north Bangkok. The addition of the two centres, which are spaced 8 kilometres apart, follows the opening of two more Thai branches at the start of April 2021.
Yokohama Mold Co., Ltd. (YMC), the tyre mould production subsidiary of Yokohama Rubber, is expanding production capacity at its Yokohama Mold (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (YMTC) facility in order to strengthen the company’s supply chain in the ASEAN region. Construction of new facilities at the Thailand site began in January and are scheduled to be completed at the end of this year.
Anti-dumping duties as high as 98% may be applied to passenger vehicle and light truck tyres entering the USA from South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on 30 December that it will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of these products.
The BITEC exhibition venue in Bangkok will host a Tyrexpo Asia event in Thailand from 2022. According to the event organisers, Tarsus Group, the idea is to keep running the existing Tyrexpo Asia Singapore exhibition during odd years and introduce the Bangkok edition during even years. As a result, there will be a Tyrexpo Asia event running annually. The inaugural Bangkok edition will be run 27-29 April 2022 roughly five months after Tyrexpo Asia Singapore, which is scheduled for 17-19 November 2021.
Following the news that the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) reported a year-on-year decline of 38.76 per cent in vehicle production over the past nine months, Bakar Sadik Agwan, Senior Automotive Consulting Analyst at data and analytics company GlobalData, says: “Thailand, a key automotive production hub in Asia, is struggling hard to recover from the slumped vehicle production output. Vehicle production, both for domestic sales and exports, has been witnessing a downward trend since 2019.
Marubeni is well-known for its range of tyre-related investment interests. While the conglomerate began in Japan, recent additions in Russia and US-based Tyrata demonstrate the diversity of its tyre-related portfolio.
In spite of COVID-19, Prinx Chengshan managed to increase its net profit in the first half of 2020, a feat aided in part by a prompt response to the pandemic. Sales revenue for Prinx Chengshan (Cayman) Holding Limited and its subsidiaries in the six months to 30 June 2020 came to RMB 2,844.0 million (£317.2 million), 1.0 per cent less than in the same period of 2019. Gross profit rose 9.9 per cent year-on-year to RMB 606.3 million (£66.7 million) and net profit increased 1.6 per cent to RMB 265.3 million (£29.2 million).
ZC Rubber is launching its second generation of Westlake WSA2LT, WAS2, WDA2LT, WDA2, WSM2 and WDM2 all-steel truck and light truck tyres into the European market effective 1 July 2020. According to the company, the range is designed for “European fleets who seek both tyre performance and cost saving”.
Chinese manufacturer Qingdao Sentury Tire received approval for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange earlier in the month. The tyre maker is mainly known in the UK for supplying Landsail tyres through wholesaler Grouptyre, as well as being a manufacturing partner of Davanti Tyres. Tyres & Accessories asked Sean Maddocks, Davanti sales director for UK and Ireland, what the IPO would mean for its own relationship and growth plans.
In the USA the United Steelworkers (USW) union has filed antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) petitions on dumped and subsidized passenger vehicle and light truck (PVLT) tyres with the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission
Prinx Chengshan produced its first car tyre at its new plant in Thailand on Saturday. The start of PCR tyre production at the Prinx Chengshan Tire (Thailand) Co., Ltd. facility follows the start of TBR tyre production on 25 March.
Prinx Chengshan reports that its new tyre factory in Thailand produced its first commercial vehicle all-steel radial on 25 March. The first phase production project at the Prinx Chengshan Tire (Thailand) Co., Ltd. is now expected to be concluded in the second quarter of this year, giving the facility an annual capacity to produce 800,000 TBR tyres. The plant is also capable of manufacturing 4 million passenger car and light truck tyres a year.
B-Quik
ZC Rubber
Otani
B-Quik; Marubeni
Prinx Chengshan
ZC Rubber