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Market Background

Production Volume of Rubber Belts Down 6% for September

on November 16, 2016 in Market Background

According to statistics on September production volume of rubber belts compiled by the Japan Belting Manufacturers Association, year-on-year production was down due to a decrease in production of conveyor belts despite an increase in production of transmission belts. Rubber belts decreased 6 percent in September, after having recovered to the same year-on-year production level in August following 13 straight months...

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Synthetic Rubber Production Scrapes Into Positive Growth for August

on November 14, 2016 in Market Background

This past August saw a 0.7 percent year-on-year increase in total production volume of synthetic rubber, which was up at 140,547 tons, according to the Synthetic Rubber Industry Association of Japan. It also represented a turnaround from what was a negative year-on-year total in the month of July. There were declines witnessed in styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and chloroprene rubber (CR)...

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Carbon Black Shipments Down 0.9% for September

on November 11, 2016 in Market Background

According to data collated by the Japanese Carbon Black Association, 49,729 tons of carbon black was shipped in September. This is a 0.9 percent year-on-year decrease and the tenth consecutive month of a year-on-year decline. Of carbon black used for rubber, shipments of that used in tires turned positive, seeing a 3.3 percent increase. At the same time, carbon black...

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Rubber Machinery Makers Pivot Into New Areas to Stay Afloat

on November 10, 2016 in Industry, Market Background

Looking to open up new markets, Japan’s rubber machinery manufacturers are leveraging their expertise as they intensify development efforts in industry-related equipment. These efforts come against the backdrop of a decline in domestic demand for equipment used to manufacture rubber goods, as well as decreasing shipments due to a growing presence of overseas manufacturers. A visible shift can be seen...

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Kohei Morikawa Tapped as Showa Denko’s Next President

on November 7, 2016 in Market Background

Major chemical manufacturer Showa Denko K.K. (TYO:4004) announced a decision to offer director Kohei Morikawa the positions of representative director, president and chief executive officer. Morikawa will assume his new posts as of Jan. 4, 2017. Hideo Ichikawa, who currently serves in these positions, will become representative director and chairman of the board. After stepping down as chairman, director Kyohei...

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Natural Rubber Import Volume Up Nearly 9% in August

on October 31, 2016 in Market Background, Materials

Japan’s import volume of natural rubber in August increased 8.8 percent year-on-year, while the import value decreased 19 percent year-on-year, according to data compiled by The Rubber Trade Association of Japan based on the Ministry of Finance’s Trade Statistics of Japan. This represents the first year-on-year increase in six months for import volume, but the 11th consecutive month of year-on-year...

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