Synthetic rubber, carbon black and a range of other raw materials have entered into a major period of price rises. This comes as price spikes for crude oil and naphtha – as well as the rising costs of distribution – place increasing pressure on companies in the industry. In synthetic rubber, industry leader JSR Corp. (TYO:4185) has announced that it...
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange Inc. (Tocom) on Oct. 9 listed futures contracts for technically specified rubber 20 (TSR20), expanding its operations in the rubber market. For contracts lasting until April, TSR20 prices per kilogram opened at 163.5 yen ($1.46) for the day before closing at 160 yen, with a high of 163.5 yen and a low of 159.8 yen. Trading...
Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. (TYO:7282) recently announced that it has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit brought against the company by auto dealers and end consumers in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Toyoda Gosei will be required to pay $59 million for the settlement. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit alleged that Toyoda Gosei violated U.S....
Dow Chemical Japan Ltd. on Sept. 18 hosted a special event targeting innovation and a sustainable society at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo. Named the Dow Japan Innovation Day in Tokyo 2018, the event was held as a means to sound out possibilities for innovation that could help solve societal issues around the world. This was the event’s second iteration following...
Manufacturers of industrial rubber products have seen their revenues of late driven down by rising distribution and raw material costs. The impact of this has been particularly large for rubber and plastic hoses, which require significant labor to transport due to their shape and so incur higher delivery costs than other rubber products. This has then combined with sharp cost...
Japan’s construction equipment industry is expected to achieve healthy performance for fiscal 2018–2019, according to a demand forecast recently compiled by the Japan Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association (CEMA). This continues a trend from both fiscal 2017 and early fiscal 2018 wherein sluggish domestic demand has been offset by stronger demand overseas, leading to higher revenues on the whole. Alongside this...
