AKRON—Japan’s Bridgestone Corp. is the world’s No. 1 tire maker for the fifth straight year, according to Rubber & Plastics News’ annual ranking of the world’s tire manufacturers, outdistancing No. 2 Michelin despite meager growth in 2012. Bridgestone’s estimated tire-manufacturing-related sales of $28.6 billion put the Tokyo-based company more than $2 billion ahead of Michelin and nearly $9.5 billion ahead of No. 3 Goodyear. The new rankings will appear in the 2013 Global Tire Report,…

TOKYO, Aug 26 — Rubber in Tokyo was set to enter a bull market as futures jumped to a three-month high on signs China’s economy is regaining strength, boosting demand for the commodity used in tyres. Rubber for delivery in January advanced as much as 3.2 per cent to ¥278 a kilogram (2,817 a tonne) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, a 22 per cent gain from this year’s lowest close for a most-active contract of…

Kerala, India – The Hindu reports, “Rubber farmers in Kerala have lost at least 30,000 metric tons of latex, worth more than Rs 550 crore at the current price, to unprecedented rains in June, July and early August that brought tapping to a near complete halt for more than 60 days. However, the Rubber Board is confident that part of the losses can be made up in the coming months when tapping peaks. Rubber production…

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s natural rubber production in June rose 33.1 per cent to 66,566 tonnes from the 50,016 tonnes recorded in May, the Statistics Department said today. However, June’s output was 22.5 per cent lower vis-a-vis the 85,866 tonnes produced in the same month last year. The smallholdings sector accounted for 92.2 per cent of the natural rubber produced in June, while estates accounted for the remaining 7.8 per cent. Stocks at end-June stood at…

KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato, March 8 (PIA) — South Cotabato officials are pushing for the planting of more rubber trees in the upland area this year as it sees the crop’s potential as a source of income. Gov. Arthur Y. Pingoy Jr. has recently asked OPAG to fast track the expansion of the rubber development program especially in the remote barangays and watershed areas. Pingoy said, this is also a means to lure away residents…

Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. reported lower operating income for the 2Q and first half of the year, despite higher sales year-over-year. In the first half, Sumitomo’s operating income dropped 7.9% to $311.3 million, despite a sales increase of 3.6% to $3.62 billion. Total net income was down 5.7% to $162.1 million. Similarly, the 2Q results showed a 9.2% decrease in operating income, to $151.5 million, while sales were up 9.1%, to $1.91 billion. Net income…

YUANLIN, Taiwan—Taiwan’s Cheng Shin Rubber Ind. Co. Ltd./Maxxis International plans to build a seventh plant in China in the coming years, but management has yet to settle on a location or scale of investment. The company, the world’s ninth largest tire maker with 2012 sales of $4.6 billion, said the plant would be in northern China but other details are still being formulated. Cheng Shin’s other six plants—including two opened in the past 18 months—are…

Although it retains a positive view of long-term developments, Germany’s Lanxess AG has admitted its current performance falls short of the company’s own expectations. Board of Management chairman Axel Heitmann spoke frankly upon the release of the specialty chemicals firm’s second quarter 2013 results – figures that include a 95 per cent year-on-year drop in net income. “The first half of 2013 does not meet our own high standards,” stated Heitmann. “Trading conditions for our…

Announcing its results for the first half of 2013, Pirelli has shown a year on year 6.1 per cent reduction in earnings before interest and taxes compared with the first half of 2012. This occurred in spite of a second quarter in which the manufacturer saw signs of improvement, with revenues climbing 8.8 per cent on 2Q 2012 following a 1.3 per cent YoY reduction in the first three months of the year. However, net…

Apollo Tyres – which will add eight tire manufacturing plants across the globe after the completion of its $2.5 billion acquisition of Cooper Tire – will focus on expanding operations in Serbia, China and Mexico over the next few years, according to a report by the India Business Standard. Neeraj Kanwar, vice chairman and managing director, told the paper, “There is a very clear growth-capex program that has been identified. Plants with the opportunity to…