The latest buzzword in Chinese economic policy is supply side reform (SSR). This means rationalising over-capacity, weeding out weaker, low-tech players and adapting existing processes to modern manufacturing techniques. The latest story in the Chinese press suggests that policies will be focussed around lending to support only advanced manufacturing. An example given is the banking
A week ago, on Friday 19 Feb, the US ITC voted to investigate the import of truck tires from China. The ITC is expected to report to the commission on Monday 7 March and issue a preliminary determination a week later on 14 March. Regular readers will remember that we addressed this issue a couple
The reaction in China to the US actions on TBR tires has been strong. A quote in China Business News says no US tire maker supports the investigation; besides profits have been soaring among US-based tire makers, so there can have been no injury. The report says, “China will closely follow the progress of the
A week ago, on Friday 19 Feb, the US ITC voted unanimously to continue with an investigation into off-the-road (OTR) tires imported from India and Sri Lanka. It decided not to investigate OTR tires made in China and imported into the United States. The argument was that OTR tires from China come in two styles.
A long article in China Tire Dealer tracks the issue of productivity. It says that China’s tire capacity in 2015 is around 600m units (郑超). (We believe this is the combined figure for car and truck radials). The domestic replacement market is around 40% of total capacity. Meanwhile the United States accounts for around 25%
China Tire Dealer says 2016 must be the year of restructuring in the Chinese Industry. Again, the phrase, ‘Supply side reform’ (SSR) crops up, with a prediction of a deep ‘Winter’ (recession) across many industries as over-capacity is removed and enterprises are upgraded to more modern manufacturing technology. The report quotes Economist Zhong Wei (钟伟)
With the introduction of dual tariffs against Chinese tires, tire makers are seeking new markets. The trougle is, says an article on Tireworld, Chinese tire makers do not know what those markets need. The article quotes Chinese Minister of Trade and Investment Promotion Department (CCPIT) Lin Shunjie (林舜杰). He said that simply identifying a gap
China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has named 20 rubber-related companies to the list of 1187 National Enterprise Technology Centres. The ranking is based largely on the number of patents issued by the organisation. A place on the list means that companies can apply for tax reliefs, and other benefits, according to State policies.
The German motor transport inspection agency, GTÜ carried out a test of summer tires in size 225/45 R 17. While Continental’s ContiSportContact 5 came out as a clear winner, three Chinese brands were described as a danger to safety due to poor wet braking performance. The Agency highlighted the tires from GT Radial, Linglong and
Triangle has brought on stream its car tire factory in Nanhai, Shandong. The unit has capacity for 4m car tires annually. The first tires came off the line on 19 Feb. Triangle said the factory is fully compliant with Industry 4.0 criteria and the unit is 40% more efficient than the existing factory in Weihai.
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