Bridgestone Corp. announced that Bridgestone Europe will close its passenger car tire production facility in Modugno (Bari), Italy. The plant is fully owned by Bridgestone Italia S.p.A., a 100% subsidiary of Bridgestone Europe. The Bari plant is one of eight Bridgestone tire plants in Europe – the other facilities are located in Spain, France, Poland and Hungary. “The decision follows an in-depth analysis of the structural changes which have taken place over the last two…

SINGAPORE—The secretary-general of the International Rubber Study Group predicts strong global demand for tires through the coming decade. “Following two years of disappointing economic growth, in response to the European sovereign debt crisis, the weak U.S.A. economic recovery and budget issues, plus the economic slowdown in China, our latest forecasts point to a period of sustained growth and strong demand for new vehicles and tires through the coming decade,” said Stephen Evans, principal guest at…

Rubber climbed as data in the U.S. yesterday showed companies in the world’s largest economy were expanding capacity, potentially boosting demand for the commodity used in tires. The contract for delivery in September, the most-active by volume, gained as much as 1.3 percent to 283 yen a kilogram ($2,992 a metric ton) before trading at 281.3 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange by 10:41 a.m. local time. Orders for U.S. durable goods climbed more than…

KUALA LUMPUR–Malaysia’s natural rubber production fell 2.6% year-on-year in October to 83,591 metric tons, Department of Statistics data showed Wednesday. October exports fell 16% on year to 66,681 tons, while imports rose 52% to 93,061 tons. Standard rubber and latex concentrate accounted for 44% and 32% of total imports, respectively. The department didn’t explain the changes.