The Japan Belting Industry Association announced the 2024 import and export performance of rubber belts, compiled based on Ministry of Finance trade statistics. According to the data, export value was 48.35 billion yen ($340.24 million), up 6% from the previous year, and import value was 12.80 billion yen, up 11% from the previous year. Imports shifted from a decline in...
industry trends
Spring 2025 New Graduate Hires Up 1%, Salaries Rise: Rubber Firms
Japan Rubber Weekly conducted a survey targeting rubber-related companies regarding their Spring 2025 New Graduate Recruitment Status. The total number of new graduates hired for spring 2025 by the 24 responding companies was 1,154, surpassing the 1,141 hires from the same companies in 2024 by 13 individuals, or a 1.1% increase. Of the 24 companies, 13 increased their hiring compared...
Resin Hose Demand Stagnates on Sluggish Growth in Equipment and Machinery: Report
Demand for resin hoses has stagnated. As automobile production, which has a large impact on demand, remains sluggish, the operating rates of machinery and equipment in automobile-related industries have not increased, and this trend has spread to peripheral industries, resulting in a situation where the overall demand for plastic hoses has not picked up. The expected demand for semiconductor manufacturing...
Report: General-Purpose and Specialty Synthetic Rubbers Remain Sluggish
Synthetic rubber shipments are sluggish and many manufacturers are saying that it will be difficult to achieve a recovery at least by the end of the fiscal year. This comes as both tire and industrial goods applications, particularly automotive parts, continue to struggle. A certain degree of recovery is expected once inventory adjustments, which are said to be the main...
Rubber Product Sales for January-June Up 12% at 1.26 Trillion Yen
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has announced that the total sales value of rubber products for January-June totaled 1.256 trillion yen ($8.53 billion), up 12.0% from the same period last year. The situation, however, was somewhat mixed by product, and the increase was not overwhelming. In addition, price hikes led to a divergence in sales value from...
Market Report: Rubber Sheets Showing Signs of Recovery in January-March
Shipment volume of rubber sheets (plates) may be showing signs of recovery: after falling 10.2% year-on-year in 2022 according to data compiled by the Japan Rubber Manufacturers Association, shipments turned positive in the January-March period of 2023, rising 1.6% year-on-year to 4,242 tons. Although automobile production did not fully recover in 2022 and was affected by inventory adjustments of parts,...