Following his inauguration as president of the Japan Rubber Manufacturers Association (JRMA) last May, Ikuji Ikeda has been giving significant thought to where Japan’s rubber industry is headed. After hearing what Ikeda had to say on his role at the JRMA and the hidden potential of rubber, Japan Rubber Weekly found out his thoughts on development trends heading into this...
Ikuji Ikeda, president and CEO at Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (TYO:5110), was inaugurated last May as the 15th president of the Japan Rubber Manufacturers Association (JRMA). Japan Rubber Weekly recently sat down with Ikeda to hear his thoughts on the association and the industry heading into 2019. Defining his role with the JRMA, Ikeda said that he sees his job...
While snowy conditions around Japan have started later than average this winter, recent developments are hinting at a more favorable tailwind for sales of studless winter tires. Coming into mid-December, northern Japan is finally seeing full-fledged winter conditions, while elsewhere even parts of the Kanto region are beginning to see snowfall. Publishing a demand forecast this summer for the second...
Japan’s production of rubber hoses is expected to total 38,530 tons for 2019, according to a recent report from the Japan Rubber Hose Manufacturers Association. This would represent production growth of 0.2 percent over figures projected for 2018. Looking at automotive hoses, production is projected to rise 0.1 percent year-on-year to reach 24,650 tons for 2019. Factored into this is...
The Japan Belting Manufacturers Association has projected that Japan’s production of rubber belts for 2019 will come to a total of 26,619 tons, sitting at a similar level to figures from 2018. Domestic demand is expected to account for 19,660 tons of this total, down by 2 percent, with exports rising by 6 percent to reach 6,959 tons. Conveyor belt...
Kiyohiko Moto, head of the Japan Glove Manufacturers Association, recently sat down with Japan Rubber Weekly to reflect on domestic glove sales against statistics for 2017, discussing both current conditions for his industry and where he sees things heading. Looking firstly at household gloves, Moto said that sales have been quite robust with 93.71 million pairs – 102 percent against...
