Demand for Japanese-made rubber belts is expected to reach 19,668 tons in 2021, which would mark a 1 percent year-on-year increase. This figure comes from the Japan Belting Manufacturers Association, which recently put together a 2021 demand forecast for rubber and plastic belts. The logistics sector, as well as the sector for packaging and paper production, are set to continue...
Industry
Osaka Exchange, Thailand Futures Exchange Establish New Futures Market for Japanese Natural Rubber
Osaka Exchange Inc. (OSE) and Thai Futures Exchange PCL (TFEX) have come to an agreement regarding a new futures market for Japanese natural rubber. Based on this agreement, TFEX launched a market named Japanese Rubber Futures on Nov. 30, with this being a cash-settled natural rubber futures market based on the final settlement price of OSE’s own Natural Ribbed Smoke...
Recovery in Automotive Production Sees Rubber Products Sector Spring Back in September
With automotive production recovering, there has also been steady improvement in both production and shipment results for rubber products. According to figures released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) for September, Japan’s monthly production and shipments of rubber products came to a value of almost 181.4 billion yen ($1.74 billion), down just 8.2 percent against the same...
Mitsubishi Chemical’s Carbon Fiber SMC Finds Use in Roof of New Toyota GR Yaris
Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. recently announced that its carbon fiber sheet molding compound (SMC) has been adopted for use in the roof of the new GR Yaris launched in September by Toyota Motor Corp. (TYO:7203). In selecting this SMC, Toyota judged that the material would be able to facilitate both significant lightweighting and a high level of component performance while also...
Sumitomo Rubber Tests TPMS to be Used in Level 4 Autonomous Driving
Looking to help achieve Level 4 autonomous driving, Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (TYO:5110) has built an integrated system that handles everything from obtaining tire pressure data through to facilitating maintenance for detected issues. The company recently subjected this system to proof-of-concept testing on public roads in Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, on Nov. 12. This system comes as part of a joint...
Carbon Black Production Rises as North American Tire Demand Trends Toward Recovery
Tokai Carbon Co. Ltd.’s (TYO:5301) carbon black business is on the rebound after bottoming out during the April–June quarter, says President Hajime Nagasaka. Speaking at a financial results briefing on Nov. 5, Nagasaka said that demand is recovering particularly in the U.S. and Thai markets, adding that the company’s U.S. production bases have utilization rates up in the 90–95 percent...