According to automobile production numbers for 2015 compiled by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), total production for four-wheel vehicles was 9.28 million units, a 5-percent year-on-year decline that marked the first drop in two years. 5.05 million vehicles were produced to serve domestic demand, down 9 percent and marking the first fall in four years.
The value of construction machinery shipments during calendar 2015 totaled 2.3129 trillion yen ($19.27 billion), down 5 percent from the previous year as the annual figure turned negative after an increase in 2014, according to a report compiled by the Japan Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association (CEMA; 69 member companies).
Belt manufacturer Habasit Nippon has launched an automatic belt cleaner marketed as the FV Washing System. The apparatus employs a new cleaning technique. Waves in the water strike a conveyor belt with vibrations. These vibrations loosen and remove the belt's dirt, which then float up in the water. The system uses no detergent, only water, hot or cold.
Sumitomo Rubber (TYO:5110) plans to use its Ultra Pure Natural Rubber (UPNR) in truck and bus (TB) tires for the first time with the ENASAVE SP688 Ace, an all-season TB tire product line featuring improved fuel efficiency. A successive sales launch of size-13 ENASAVE tires is set to begin in March.
Sumitomo Riko’s (TYO:5191) results for the first nine months of the fiscal year ending March 2016 show sales of 316.4 billion yen ($2.7 billion), up 8 percent. Operating profit increased 75 percent to 8.7 billion yen, while net profit was 1 billion yen against a loss of 323 million yen in the same period of the previous year.
JSR Corp. (TYO:4185) announced its financial results for the first three quarters of the fiscal year ending March 2016 (April–December 2015). Net sales were down 4 percent to 294.5 billion yen ($2.52 billion), operating income down 3 percent to 29.5 billion yen and net income down 14 percent to 19.8 billion yen.
