Rubber Shipments Down 6% in January, Medical and Hygiene Applications Robust

In January 2016, the shipment value of rubber products in Japan fell by 6 percent to 160 billion yen ($1.41 billion), the seventh consecutive month of year-on-year decreases, according to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Automobile tire production was down 67 percent to 10.72 million tires, the 14th consecutive month of year-on-year decreases. Meanwhile, the value of…