As I speak with industry members, regulators and legislators I continue to be stunned by the lack of appreciation of the very critical role that tyres play in our societies.

Governments bleat about fuel security “investing” precious currency to prop up petroleum fuel storage and production in the face of the ever-expanding development of electric vehicles and more recently the advent of hydrogen as a viable fuel with thanks to the PV (solar) industry advancements. Tyres? What do you mean tyres? Without tyres our societies would grind to a halt in the near term. How are they not a strategic consideration?

Our industries (tyre, road freight transport, mining, public transport and leisure) are facing sufficient difficulties with COVID as well as international shipping challenges to be faced with continued ignorance and negligence by our legislators and regulators.

Please review your countries legislative requirements in regards tyre inflation for light vehicles (say <4,500 kgs) and then the same requirement for heavy vehicles (>4,500 kgs). What do you find?

Mostly I think you will find that tyre inflation pressures are regulated for light vehicles via the vehicle manufacturers tyre placard. For heavy vehicles there is little, if any, such requirement. To illustrate the yawning gap between reality and regulation one peak heavy transport regulatory body published a procedure for roller brake testing for heavy vehicles. The procedure details in minute detail the requirements of the pneumatic system on the truck under test yet merely stated “tyres should be inflated.” As everyone in the tyre industry understands a tyre can be inflated at low pressures totally unrelated to actual operating pressures. What connects the brakes to the pavement? Tyres!

I’ve spoken at length about the absolute requirement for a tyre to be appropriately inflated. This is basic physics, the air molecules captured within the tyre’s air chamber actually support the applied loads. If there are insufficient molecules of air the tyre will be overworked so overheat and so enter a failure phase. There are other requirements for the inflation being the actual shaping of the tyre to interface with the pavement at the optimum level, read traction. A wide based tyre requires special construction to maintain the tread platform shape. If the inflation pressure is not at the manufacturer’s specified level will this critical shape be maintained? Then it is not only the performance of the tyre in question but also the safety of the vehicle and that of the general public in the areas this vehicle operates in.

The extensive report produced by the TNO Organisation (TNO 2013 R10986) detailed not only the exhaust emissions as a result of inappropriately inflated tyres but also the road safety outcomes. This paper is now just over eight years old but the situation with real time pressure monitoring for heavy vehicles remains as it was, 50 years or more ago. WHY? Are our regulators asleep at the wheel (or tyre some may say) through entrenched inaction and ignorance? Or is it that there are just “no votes” in tyres and everyone just ASSuMes their tyres are “ok”?

EV tyres

With the advent of electric vehicles, the ramifications for tyres are huge. In the past internal combustion engines (ICE) built up torque over a rev range, drivelines multiplied the torque developed and for heavy vehicles there is a sweet spot for torque. The multi speed gearboxes assisted the driver to maintain forward motion within this torque sweet spot. Electric motors apply maximum torque over most of their operating range. From the instant the power is applied by the driver (be that human or robotic) the tyres are under peak stress. Any deficiency within the tyre will be magnified with detrimental results. Such a deficiency may be of a manufacturing nature but this is largely controllable by the manufacturer. What is not currently controllable is the human maintenance factor, the applied inflation pressure.

Tyre manufacturers have for as long as they have been manufacturing tyres been informative about the criticality of appropriate tyre inflation. There are untold charts and pictorials showing how a tyre is influenced by under or over inflation yet our regulators and legislators continue to keep their heads buried deep out of the light. WHY when tyres are such a critical component of our modern-day motor vehicle? I would charge ignorance and negligence on one hand but then on the other suggest that because tyres work as well as they do, are as forgiving (by nature of their fundamental flexible design) our “guiding powers” can focus on other trendy and glamorous aspects such as stability control or autonomous braking. An important question for these people to consider and respond to; “what item on the vehicle transfers the power (and so directly influence these vehicle control systems) from the vehicle to the pavement (be that power tractive or retardation)? Yes of course, the humble tyre.

So, when a government sponsored or publicly funded body involved in road safety ignores tyres (for whatever reason, ignorance or negligence) are they really serving the interests of our communities and societies or are they just -- I should stop there but you know where I’m going!

The technology to monitor tyre pressures in real time is and has now been available for decades. The TREAD Act (USA) mandated tyre pressure monitoring (TPMS) for light vehicles in the USA in the year 2000. This year TPMS gets a key for its birthday, yes well and truly a mature product (some may say adult) and industry yet, our regulators and legislators continue to ignore the humble tyre.

The upsides of maintaining tyres at an appropriate pressure I’ve discussed previously, all positive. The same detail has been published in many papers (such as the TNO paper!) but we as an industry continue to live in the past whilst adopting hi-tech solutions for other aspects of our industries, e.g., GPS tracking, fatigue monitoring, reefer monitoring and control, real time video surveillance of the drivers and the surrounding traffic conditions. Why? To me there is little respect paid to the critical role the tyre provides for us. So many users do not consider how the tyre works for them and why the simplest of tasks will enhance the performance, yes, I speak of inflation maintenance. Without respect the tyre will never be recognised for the contribution it has made and continues to make.

I publicly and openly challenge our tyre manufacturers as a collective to mount an education campaign to enhance the level of respect the general public has about tyres. The TIA (US) and USTMA have local campaigns on behalf of their members but I consider that until the tyre manufacturers as a collective industry actual improve the level of respect for the humble tyre we will be chasing our tails on a race to the bottom. Our tyres deserve better!

What about Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Continental, BKT, Dunlop, ZC Rubber, Hankook, Pirelli, Toyo, Sumitomo, Yokohama, Kumho, MRF, Apollo, Nokian, JKTyres, Cooper, Titan, Linglong, Triangle et al?

Remember success does not reward a lack of action. (TT)

Eurogrip Tyres, the leading tyre manufacturer in India, showcased its premium two-wheeler tyres at the 17th edition of Feria 2 Ruedas (F2R) International Motorcycle exhibition held at Plaza Mayor, Medellin, Colombia. The dates of this high-profile business event in South America's two-wheeler sector are 15–18 May 2025.

For more than 17 years, the Feria de las 2 Ruedas (F2R) has been the leading motorcycle industry event in Latin America. The expo, which takes place every year in Medellín, Colombia, is a vibrant venue for commerce, innovation and growth in the motorcycling sector. Additionally, it gives aficionados the chance to investigate the most recent developments and trends in the industry. The company showcased its premium lineup at exhibit N24 in the Tented Pavillion, which included a range of sport touring, off-road and trail tyres. High-performance versions including the Roadhound, Protorq Extreme, Trailhound STR, Climber, Bee Connect, Terrabite DB+ and Badhshah LX were on display.

P Madhavan, Executive Vice-President – Marketing & Sales, TVS Srichakra Ltd, said, “Eurogrip is focused to deliver innovative products for the global markets. Latin America is a priority market for us, and F2R Expo is a promising platform to engage with our target audience. We are looking forward to interesting business opportunities arising from this expo. Such specialised industry tradeshows add exceptional value to our quest in becoming a leading global tyre brand delivering world class tyre technology.”

Denka Company Limited announced it would record an extraordinary loss of approximately 16.1 billion yen (£85.8 million) as an impairment on manufacturing facilities at its US subsidiary. It will indefinitely suspend chloroprene rubber production at the Louisiana plant.

The Japanese chemical manufacturer, which holds a 70 percent stake in Denka Performance Elastomer LLC (DPE), cited mounting operational challenges, including unexpectedly high costs for pollution control equipment and declining production volumes at the American facility.

“DPE has faced significant cost, production and other challenges at its facility in the United States,” the company said in a statement. “Rising costs are attributable to, among other factors, identification, design, purchase, installation, and operation of pollution control equipment to reduce chloroprene emissions that DPE did not anticipate being required when it acquired the facility from E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company.”

The subsidiary was established in December 2014 and acquired the chloroprene rubber business from DuPont in November 2015. The Louisiana facility was intended to serve as a second manufacturing site in North America, complementing Denka’s Omi Plant in Itoigawa, Niigata, Japan.

However, according to the company statement, DPE has struggled with multiple operational issues, including “rising energy costs and a shortage of qualified staff necessary to operate new pollution control equipment and implement other emission reduction measures. “

Production volumes have declined partly due to “operational restrictions arising from the pollution reduction measures and unscheduled plant outages associated with supply chain disruptions and severe weather events,” Denka said.

The company noted that these challenges, combined with changes in the global economic environment for chloroprene rubber, have pressured profitability, making near-term improvement difficult.

Denka confirmed that DPE employs 250 people as of December 2024 and will not restart its chloroprene rubber manufacturing facilities following a regular maintenance shutdown. Instead, “all options for the business, including a potential sale of the business or its assets, will be considered,” the statement said.

The company emphasised that “no decision regarding a permanent closure of the facility has been made at this time.”

Customers will continue to be supplied from current inventories and production at the company’s Omi Plant in Japan.

DPE is 70 percent owned by Denka USA LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Denka Company Limited, and 30 percent by Diana Elastomers, Inc., a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd.

Yokohama Rubber reported a 56.9 percent year-on-year decline in profit attributable to owners for the first quarter of 2025, despite posting a 9.0 percent increase in sales revenue.

The Japanese tyre maker recorded a profit of 8.53 billion yen for the three months ended 31 March, down from 19.8 billion yen in the same period last year. Business profit fell 3.2 percent to 24.07 billion yen, while sales revenue rose to 275.12 billion yen.

The company maintained its full-year forecast, projecting an 11.4 percent increase in sales revenue to 1.22 trillion yen and an 8.8 percent rise in profit to 81.5 billion yen for the fiscal year ending 31 December 2025.

Yokohama Rubber attributed the profit decline to one-time costs related to its February acquisition of Goodyear’s off-the-road (OTR) tyre business, which it purchased for approximately 143 billion yen.

“Profit from existing businesses was strong,” the company said in its earnings statement. “In addition to increased sales volume for the company’s consumer tyres, mainly in overseas markets, and continued expansion of sales of high-value-added ADVAN, GEOLANDAR, and Winter tyres as well as high-inch tyres, profit was boosted by the MB segment’s MIX improvements and structural reforms.”

The tyre segment, which accounts for 91percent of the group’s consolidated sales revenue, saw a 10.4 percent increase in sales to 250.32 billion yen. Original equipment tyre sales were higher year-on-year, driven by “strong sales in Japan of vehicle models equipped with YOKOHAMA tyres and expansion of shipments for Chinese automakers’ new energy vehicles,” the company said.

Replacement tyre sales also increased, supported by higher sales of summer and winter tyres in Japan, increased sales of high-inch tyres in Europe, and stepped-up sales efforts in Asia.

The MB (Multiple Businesses) segment, which represents 8.4 percent of total sales, experienced a 3.2 percent revenue decline to 23.02 billion yen. This was attributed to lower demand from construction machinery makers in Japan and automakers in North America.

The company described an “upbeat” business sentiment in Japan for the quarter, noting that “a steady recovery in inbound demand and increasing orders for construction and logistics projects compensated for weak consumption by domestic households curbing spending in response to rising prices of consumer goods.”

Overseas, the company observed rising inflation concerns weighing on consumer spending in the United States, while in Europe, “manufacturing industries are rebounding and corporate business sentiment is improving.” In China, personal consumption was boosted by the Spring Festival holiday, but high US tariffs “reduced China’s exports and created uncertainty about the future that is weakening industrial activity.”

Swedish speciality chemicals firm Nynas reported solid financial results for 2024, posting an Adjusted EBITDA of 1,333 million Swedish kronor, marginally higher than the 1,316 million kronor recorded in 2023.

The company, which specialises in naphthenic speciality oils and bitumen products, attributed its performance to operational efficiency and commercial success in its niche markets.

“We are delighted with the progress made during 2024, evidencing our right-sized cost base and a more targeted commercial and manufacturing footprint. We have redefined our strategic direction, positioning Nynas as a speciality chemicals company, enabling the energy transition and setting our course for 2035,” Nynas CEO Eric Gosse said in a statement.

The firm highlighted strong cash generation from operations, which it said would support planned investments and longer-term growth initiatives. Nynas also mentioned the ongoing transformation of its Harburg site with plans to monetise the asset eventually.

All three of the company’s production facilities maintained high operational reliability between 95 percent and 99 percent. The Nynäshamn refinery achieved a notable milestone: in May 2024, it set a new monthly production record for naphthenic speciality oils at 42,000 tonnes.

Strategic pivot towards sustainability

Nynas outlined a strategic shift focused on higher-margin speciality materials with sustainable characteristics. The company aims to strengthen its position in European markets through innovation and sustainability initiatives.

“Nynas is uniquely positioned to contribute to the energy transition. Our strategy reflects our purpose to advance a more sustainable society, and our product development pipeline is fully aligned with this goal," Gosse added.

In 2024, the company received an EcoVadis Gold rating, placing it in the top 5 percent of globally rated businesses for sustainability performance.

With consecutive years of strong financial performance, Nynas indicated it continues to monitor debt capital markets to optimise its capital structure “at the appropriate time potentially”.

The Swedish chemicals producer noted that, having ceased operations in the United States in 2022, it remains largely insulated from recent global trade tensions surrounding US import tariffs. The company imports only minimal feedstock from America, shielding it from potential cross-border trade disputes.