The palpable economic slowdown that has continued in China since last year is impacting the rubber industry with increasing severity, both directly and indirectly. With China’s economic situation seen as being more severe than is generally portrayed in news reports, grim views on its future are overwhelmingly prevalent. In the rubber industry, for instance, there has been a slump in...
For fiscal 2015 as a whole, many Japanese auto parts manufacturers anticipate a turn for the worse. This is particularly true overseas, where besides deceleration in China and elsewhere in Asia, and a sluggish South American economy, output is down at European car companies. The Brazilian economy began shifting down last year, and it will likely continue to do so...
There is growing cause for concern over the outlook for Japanese manufacturers of rubber auto parts. The Chinese economy is now in a clear slowdown, while uncertainty lingers over developing economies in Southeast Asia and South America. Manufacturers have increased overseas sales over the past few years. This growth has primarily been in China and elsewhere in Asia, as well...
Production volume for synthetic rubber in Japan from January to September 2015 was 1.24 million tons, a more than 2 percent year-on-year increase, according to the Synthetic Rubber Industry Association of Japan. This was despite output by manufacturers in synthetic rubber customer industries such as automotive and tires was sluggish. Performance at synthetic rubber companies for the first half of...
by Yasuhiko Shimizu, Chief Editor E-media Ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), a synthetic rubber used in products including automobile parts and electrical cables, is currently in global oversupply. EPDM is a synthetic rubber with superior electrical properties and outstanding resistance to weather, ozone, heat, cold and chemicals. A large share of overall production is used in the manufacture of...
The price of Japanese-made naphtha, an indicator of synthetic rubber prices, was 47,200 yen ($380) per kiloliter for the third quarter (July–September), down by more than 3 percent, or 1,600 yen ($13), over the second quarter (April–June). Naphtha prices are expected to drop further in the October–December period. Falling raw material prices look to continue as a factor in tire...
