Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) will raise the prices of its winter tires for passenger cars and vans by 6 percent beginning on September 1. A Bridgestone spokesperson cited higher prices for the natural rubber used to make the company’s tires, as well as synthetic rubber and other petrochemical ingredients. The spokesperson says that the decision to raise prices was taken only...
The Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association (JATMA) has announced its 2016 estimates for domestic demand of automobile tires, together with its forecast for 2017. According to the association, domestic demand in 2016 was in line with the previous year at 117.87 million units, and a virtually identical demand of 118.19 million units is anticipated for 2017. This demand estimate is...
Nihon Michelin Tire Co. Ltd. has recently invited members of the press to an educational seminar about winter tires. During the event, Michelin Japan’s engineers offered commentary about winter tire history, advances in tire technology, smart winter tire use and performance variation based on U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) identification numbers. As technological innovation in the tire industry has accelerated...
Demand for automobile tires in Japan is expected to decrease for a second consecutive year, according to the mid-year review of domestic tire demand for 2016 published by the Japan Automobile Tire Manufacturers Association (JATMA) on July 21. The review places gross demand for tires including those for special and two-wheeled vehicles at 117.366 million units, a decline of 1.837...
The automobile market in Japan is going through a difficult period, said Yujiro Kanahara, president of Nippon Goodyear Ltd., speaking recently to Japan Rubber Weekly. This is particularly true in the tire sector, where Nippon Goodyear faces a number of strong rivals and where market growth is limited, Kanahara said. Still, he believes there are opportunities for growth.
Sales of studless winter tires in Japan have been brisk for the past few years thanks to the snowfall. According to Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association (JATMA), 25.96 million snow tires were sold in Japan in 2014, marking a year-on-year increase of 4.0 percent. Studless tires accounted for 99.8 percent of all snow tire sales: 25.92 million units sold, up...
