Japan’s four major tire manufacturers have now all posted their financial results for January–June 2022. The four companies – Bridgestone, Yokohama Rubber, Sumitomo Rubber, and Toyo Tires – each achieved double-digit increases to their sales revenue when compared to the first half of the previous year, on top of which the first two of these companies managed a year-on-year increase...
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New Toyo Tire Plant in Serbia Starts Operations, Makes First Delivery
Toyo Tire’s new Serbian plant has started operation on July 27 and made its first shipment of 500 light truck tires (LTR) to the U.S. on August 9. President Takashi Shimizu said he intends to produce around 400,000 units by the end of this year, giving priority to the U.S., where there are many back orders. The plant has an...
Japan’s Carbon Black Association Forecasts Demand up 5% in Midyear Review
Japan’s Carbon Black Association has in its mid-year review of carbon black demand revised its forecast of total demand – including exports – for the year to 754,670 tons, up 5.0 percent from the previous year. This marks a downward revision of 0.4 points from the initial forecast of 757,840 tons, which would have seen an increase of 5.4 percent....
Yokohama Rubber Employs Proprietary AI-Based System for Rubber Compound Design
Yokohama Rubber has worked with Hamagomu Aicom – a subsidiary focused on developing information systems – to create a proprietary compound design system that incorporates AI-based compound creation technology. The system has then come into practical use starting this July. By suggesting compounds that would be able to match a set of designated rubber properties, the AI here will let...
Sumitomo Riko Joins GPSNR for Sustainable Procurement of Natural Rubber
Sumitomo Riko has joined on July 25 the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR). This comes as the company believes that it is necessary to endorse and join the GPSNR policy to ensure the traceability and sustainability of the procurement of natural rubber. GPSNR is an international platform established in October 2018 with the participation of tire manufacturers, automakers,...
Ube Posts Year-on-Year Drop to Sales Revenue, Butadiene Rubber Profits
Butadiene rubber (BR) manufacturer Ube has posted its results for the first quarter of fiscal 2022. The company’s sales revenue came to 116.18 billion yen ($871.79 million), down 20.6 percent from the same quarter last year; operating profit was 4.36 billion yen, down 51.1 percent; ordinary profit was 2.3 billion yen, down 74.3 percent; and net profit was 5.74 billion...
