It’s official – the UK has avoided entering into a triple-dip recession. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that, following the 0.3 per cent contraction that was witnessed in the last three months of 2012, the UK economy expanded by 0.3 per cent in the opening quarter of this year. At the start of May, Rob Shelley, founder of Suffolk-based freight forwarding specialist Maritime Cargo Services, spoke with Tyres & Accessories about…

Natural rubber production increased 0.9 per cent to 912,200 tonnes in 2012-13 from 903,700 tonnes the year before. According to Rubber Board data, consumption edged up slightly (0.8 per cent) to 971,980 tonnes last financial year against 964,415 tonnes in the year before. Earlier, the Rubber Board had projected a total production of 930,000 tonnes and a consumption of 10,06,000 tonnes for the last financial year, with an annual deficit of 76,000 tonnes. Industry experts…

Rubber industry analysts have said some time ago that, natural rubber (NR) prices are likely to take a dip after 2012 due to the acceleration in normal production on account of massive new planting undertaken across the major natural producing countries of the world during 2005-08. This effect, however, will taper off after 2020. Post 2011 trends An analysis of the production-consumption scenario leading to higher prices of NR in 2011, showed that the extremely…

JAKARTA, April 25 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s rubber output will struggle to match last year’s figure of 3 million tonnes due to wet weather in the world’s second-largest producer, the head of the rubber industry association said on Thursday. “It could be less than 2012,” Daud Husni Bastari, chairman of the Indonesian Rubber Association (GAPKINDO), told Reuters. “It could be 3 million maybe.” The latest estimate is lower than a previous 2013 output forecast from GAPKINDO…

Although Goodyear Tire & Rubber shipped fewer tyres and generated lower sales in the first three months of 2013 than a year earlier, the bottom line for the quarter was much healthier. The only regional disappointment was, predictably, Europe – and Goodyear says it will address weakness in the European markets by implementing “additional productivity improvements”. Specific details regarding these measures have yet to be announced. First quarter sales declined 10.9 per cent to US$4.9…

KUALA LUMPUR: Top Glove Corp Bhd intends to grow its global market share from an estimated 25 per cent currently to 30 per cent by end-2015. In a note yesterday, RHB Research said while Top Glove has been actively expanding its capacity organically, the management has acknowledged that the group will consider the merger and acquisition route if there were suitable acquisition targets. RHB Research said all of Top Glove’s expansion plans are now focused…

Kottayam, India – The International Rubber Study Group reports the world production of NR during April to December 2012 increased by 3.2 percent, whereas consumption of NR declined marginally by 1.1 percent. Consumption of NR in the U.S. and EU countries declined considerably during the period. Consumption of NR in Japan and South Korea also declined. Growth in NR consumption in China also remains slow. According to ISRG projections, world production and consumption of NR…

Rubber inventory in Qingdao, China’s main hub for the commodity, rose to a record this month, as imports gained while demand remained tepid amid slowing economic growth. Stockpiles in the bonded zone, where traders store deliveries before paying duties, climbed to 371,100 metric tons at the end of this month from 366,900 tons on April 15, Cai Zhiwei, general manager at the Qingdao International Rubber Exchange Market, said in an interview. China accounts for 33…

WASHINGTON—The Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration has ordered antidumping duties of 112.47 percent against off-the-road tires manufactured by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. Ltd. The duties cover HZ OTR tires imported into the U.S. between Sept. 1, 2010 and Aug. 31, 2011, according to the notice in the April 16 Federal Register. Commerce’s ruling was part of a routine review of antidumping duties on OTR tires from China. The agency published preliminary results of the review…

Rubber may fall to the lowest since 2009 by October, extending a bear market that started this month, according to technical analysis by research company JSC Corp. The 50-day moving average for the most-active contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange declined below the so-called cloud on Ichimoku charts this month, signaling futures will extend losses for another six months, said Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst at the Tokyo-based company. Rubber may drop below 205.6 yen a…