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Market Background

Special Update on CR Manufacturers (Part 1)

on December 23, 2015 in Market Background, Materials

Total chloroprene rubber (CR) production remained firm through early autumn. According to Denka Co. Ltd. (TYO:4061), production was somewhat sluggish in part because of a slump in domestic automobile manufacturing volume, although business performance was robust in China. Factors elsewhere in Asia, meanwhile, included weak domestic demand in Thailand, and stabilization at low levels in Europe. Domestic CR operations at...

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Japanese Tire Demand Volume Ends Year Down 4%

on December 22, 2015 in Market Background, Tires

Domestic demand for tires is expected to amount to 118.55 million tires for 2015, 4 percent fewer than the previous year, according to the Japan Automobile Tire Manufacturers Association (JATMA). The decrease was caused by lower vehicle production volume. The forecast for 2016, meanwhile, calls for a 1 percent annual increase to 119.2 million tires. ■ Assumptions behind the demand...

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October Motor Vehicle Production Down Slightly

on December 22, 2015 in Industry, Market Background

The number of motor vehicles produced in Japan in October 2015 was approximately 813,000, a 0.5 percent drop over the same month of the previous year and the 16th consecutive month that the figure had fallen against the previous year, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (JAMA). Passenger car production was approximately 690,000 vehicles, the first increase—albeit a slight...

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Slumping Auto Production Affects Rubber Industry

on December 18, 2015 in Industry, Market Background

In October, the number of automobiles produced in Japan fell 0.5 percent compared to the same month the previous year, to 813,110 units, marking the sixteenth straight monthly decline. The slump in automobile manufacturing has led to an across-the-board drop in production of automotive rubber products. According to statistics from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), total production...

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China’s Economic Slowdown to Impact Rubber Industry

on December 17, 2015 in Industry, Market Background

The palpable economic slowdown that has continued in China since last year is impacting the rubber industry with increasing severity, both directly and indirectly. With China’s economic situation seen as being more severe than is generally portrayed in news reports, grim views on its future are overwhelmingly prevalent. In the rubber industry, for instance, there has been a slump in...

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Rubber Auto Parts: Effects From Slowdowns in China and Asia (Part 2)

on December 9, 2015 in Market Background, Products

For fiscal 2015 as a whole, many Japanese auto parts manufacturers anticipate a turn for the worse. This is particularly true overseas, where besides deceleration in China and elsewhere in Asia, and a sluggish South American economy, output is down at European car companies. The Brazilian economy began shifting down last year, and it will likely continue to do so...

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