The month of May brought a 10th consecutive month of decline for the export value of rubber products, while import value rose for the first time in half a year, according to records collated by the Japan Rubber Manufacturers Association. Sourced from Trade Statistics of Japan, the records show that the value of exported rubber products for May was 63.07...
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Rubber Goods Production and Shipments Remain Sluggish in May
Production and shipments of rubber goods in Japan remain in low gear. According to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the shipment value of rubber goods in May 2016 decreased by 4.6 percent year on year to 164.5 billion yen ($1.57 billion), the 11th consecutive month of year-on-year decline. Production and shipments of major rubber goods such as tires,...
Production and Shipments of Rubber Belts and Hoses for May Continue Declining Trend
Rubber belt production for May totaled 2,003 tons in terms of new-rubber volume, down 3.6 percent from the same month of the previous year, while shipments were valued at 5.6 billion yen ($53.01 million), up 0.6 percent from the previous May. It was the 13th consecutive month of decline in production volume and the first year-on-year increase in shipment value...
Tokai Carbon to Increase Price for Carbon Black on Rising Oil Prices
Tokai Carbon Co. Ltd. (TYO:5301) announced on July 13 that it will increase the price at which it sells carbon black by 6.5 yen per kilogram for deliveries beginning Aug. 1. The change will apply to all varieties of carbon black the company sells in Japan. In its announcement, Tokai Carbon explained that the price of crude oil used to...

Zeon Completes Capacity Expansion for SIS and COP at Mizushima Plant
Zeon Corp. (TYO:4205) recently completed its expansion of production capacity at Mizushima Plant, Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, for the Quintac series of styrene isoprene (SIS) thermoplastic elastomers and the Zeonex and Zeonor lines of cyclo-olefin polymer (COP), a high-transparency thermoplastic resin. With the enhancements made to the plant, annual SIS production capacity jumps from 42,000 tons to 60,000 tons, while that...

Yokohama’s Geolandar Tires Selected for New Mazda CX-4 in China
Mazda Motor Corp. (TYO:7261) has selected Geolandar G91 tires by Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (TYO:5101) as original equipment on the company’s new crossover SUV, Mazda CX-4. The cars will be sold in China from June 21, 2016, and will be equipped with 225/55R19 99V size tires. The Geolandar G91 is based on Yokohama Rubber’s Geolandar series for SUVs, featuring the...