Demand for rolls for high-performance films has been strong, and along with the recovery of market conditions, it has been steadily increasing recently to become a driving force for rolls as a whole. Driven by the spread of telework and the shift to electric vehicles (EVs), demand for polarizing film for LCDs and separator film for lithium-ion batteries has been...
In December 2022, Japan Rubber Weekly conducted a survey of the rubber and plastic products manufacturing industry regarding business conditions and outlook in fiscal 2023. According to the survey results, business confidence is on a recovery trend and is expected to remain so in the future. Although sales are increasing due to demand recovery, ordinary income is not growing as...
The Japan Rubber Manufacturers Association (JRMA) has released its estimate for new rubber consumption in 2022 and its forecast for 2023. According to the report, in 2022, both Japanese domestic shipments and exports of mainstay automotive tires exceeded the previous year’s levels on a unit basis, but on a rubber volume basis, they were slightly below the previous year’s levels....
Toyoda Gosei, a member of the Toyota Group, and Asics, a major sports equipment manufacturer, have launched a line of sustainable sneakers using scrap materials from airbag fabrics, which will be available from Jan. 26 at Asics’s online store and other retailers. Toyoda Gosei has been transforming difficult-to-recycle scraps of airbag fabric and genuine leather handlebars into bags, pen cases,...
Michelin Japan and Yamato Transport on Jn 10. started full-scale operation of a joint logistics reform project. The two companies signed a lead logistics partnership agreement on Sept. 14, 2022 to rebuild a smooth and robust logistics system for Michelin in Japan. The agreement had been partially operational since that day, but became fully operational now with the first shipment...
The city of Shunan in Japan’s Yamaguchi prefecture has joined forces with Idemitsu Kosan, Tosoh, Tokuyama and Marubeni to plant a range of fast-growing tree species in Mukaidake, part of Shunan’s Heta district. This comes as part of a broader effort to trial the renewable production of woody biomass in the area, and follows an afforestation agreement that was reached...
