Russian-For more than half a year of conflict, the global political and economic situation has intensified. Observing the rut of the car, the production capacity of the global tire manufacturing industry has also shown a significant tilt in the second half of the year.
On the one hand, it is Europe. Faced with the increasingly severe energy crisis, the local tire industry is quietly shifting or withdrawing. Coupled with the restrictions on production in the automobile manufacturing industry, the entire European rubber industry is experiencing a deteriorating depression.
On the other hand, since the second half of this year, many tire manufacturers have invested their funds in the United States, and the region is ushering in a new round of production capacity explosion!
European tire production has dropped significantly
Recently, an authoritative research institution released the report "Forecast of PCLT tire supply and demand in Europe by 2026" pointed out that the damage to the production of natural gas supply by European PCLT tires has led to a greater dependence on imports. At present, the import volume of PCLT tires in Europe is higher than the level before the epidemic.
A key risk for PCLT tire manufacturers with factories in Europe is the disruption of energy supply.
Among European tire production countries, the most risky ones are Germany and Italy, and other countries may also be directly or indirectly affected.
Michelin Alawa factory announced in September that due to insufficient orders, the production of passenger car tires will be suspended for 6 days. In addition to the recent week, production will be suspended every weekend in the future, and 132,000 tires are expected to be reduced.
In addition to Michelin , recently, Goodyear tire has begun to close the Goodyear tire motorcycle tire and racing tire factories in Melksham, UK. The factory closure measures will be completed by the end of 2023, affecting about 350 employees. It is not clear where the production of these tires will be transferred.
European auto companies will cut production by 30%-40%
European tire manufacturers are generally supplying "local to local". In addition to the replacement market being occupied by imported tires, the main supporting market customers - auto manufacturers, are facing pressure to reduce production.
A report released by Standard & Poor's Global Mobile recently showed that the European energy crisis has put the European automobile industry under huge energy cost pressure. From the fourth quarter of this year to next year, European automobile companies are expected to cut production by 30%-40% each quarter.
report said that from the fourth quarter of this year to next year, the estimated output of European auto companies per quarter was originally between 4 million and 4.5 million, but the agency expects that European auto companies per quarter will reduce production to a minimum of 2.75 million.
In order to reduce energy costs, European companies have moved their production lines out, and one of the important destinations for the migration is the United States. Volkswagen Group launched a battery lab at its Tennessee plant in June, and the company will invest a total of $7.1 billion in North America by 2027. Mercedes-Benz opened a new battery factory in Alabama in March. BMW announced a new round of electric vehicle investment in South Carolina in October.
Some media commented that high energy costs have forced energy-intensive enterprises in many European countries to reduce or stop production, causing Europe to face the challenge of " de-industrialization ". Industry insiders believe that if the problem is not solved for a long time, the European industrial structure may change permanently.
U.S. tire production capacity has ushered in a sharp increase in
or above auto companies' shift towards moving direction is also reflected in the tire industry. Judging from the capacity planning of foreign-funded tire companies in the second half of the year, whether it is Japanese and Korean tire companies expanding their capacity in the United States or local tire companies in the United States to upgrade their production capacity, they are revealing an important information - the United States is becoming the focus of investment in leading tire companies.
According to incomplete statistics, as of October 2022, the cost of tire factories for expansion and upgrading of production capacity in the United States has reached US$2.5 billion (approximately RMB 17.9 billion).
The largest investment can be said to be Hantai 's production capacity expansion in the United States - up to US$1.6 billion (11.125 billion yuan) to increase its production capacity at its Clarksvi factory in Tennessee, USA. After the expansion is completed, the annual output of its passenger tires and light truck tires can reach 11 million. At the same time, after the expansion of production, the factory will produce truck tires for the first time, with an estimated annual production capacity of 1 million.
The factory's current sales account for more than 28% of Hantai's total sales, and can produce 5.5 million tires for the North American market. It is expected that after full production, it will bring more sales and sales to Hantai in the North American market.
followed by Sumitomo Rubber this year started the expansion of its Sumitomo Rubber Tire Factory in Tonawanda, New York, USA. It is revealed that the company plans to invest US$129 million (about RMB 923 million) in the next two to three years to increase the plant's production capacity by 50%. Public information shows that the daily production capacity after expansion is expected to reach 18,000 tires.
Goodyear plans to invest $125 million (about 895 million yuan) over five years to upgrade its tire factory in Topeka, Kansas, which has been built for 77 years to achieve modern production of trucks and off-highway tires.
Bridgestone will also invest $60 million (about RMB 430 million) in the expansion of its Bandag tread rubber factory in Abilene, Texas. It is reported that this investment can increase the factory's production capacity by 16%.
In addition, Bridgestone invested $550 million to expand its car tyre factory in Tennessee, USA.
Editor said: has the support of the United States behind it. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to escalate, and has become increasingly serious recently. From the perspective of the tire industry alone, after half a year of battle, the Russian tire industry has been seriously damaged and has suffered heavy energy. European tires are slowly depressed, and the US tire industry has ushered in a surge...
It can be seen from the naked eye that the tens of billions of US dollars of support for Ukraine's military expenditure are doubled back in other ways!
