Yokohama Rubber posted record-high business and financial results for the first nine months of fiscal 2024, driven by substantial revenue and profitability growth across its key business segments.

The company reported a 13.1 percent increase in sales revenue from the same period last year, reaching USD 5022 million. Business profit rose 69.6 percent to USD 535 million, operating profit increased 63.8 percent to USD 551 million, and profit attributable to the parent company’s owners climbed 36.5 percent to USD 390 million.

The Group’s business profit margin also reached 10.7 percent, its highest level ever for this time frame.

Yokohama Rubber attributed this robust growth to efforts to expand sales volume, implement product price increases and optimise the product mix. A full-year contribution from Y-TWS and the positive impact of yen depreciation further supported the performance.

Segment Results

Tyre Business: Sales in the tyre segment reached USD 4498 million, a significant increase from USD 3931 million in the same period last year. Business profit for the segment surged to USD 505 million, up from USD 287 million. Growth was driven by higher sales volume, favourable product mix and effective price increases in response to raw material costs.

Yokohama Off-Highway Tires (YOHT: YOHT recorded sales of USD 684 million, up from USD 632 million in 2023, while business profit rose to USD 81.45 million, compared to USD 76.3 million the previous year. The segment benefited from strong demand in the agricultural and industrial tyre markets, particularly in overseas markets.

Yokohama Tire & Wheel Solutions (Y-TWS): Sales in Y-TWS totaled USD 737 million, a substantial increase from USD 432 million in 2023. Business profit came in at USD 46.81 million, reversing a loss of USD 7.05 in the prior year. The improvement reflects strong sales of speciality tyres and positive impacts from structural changes and efficiency improvements.

Yokohama Rubber’s CEO emphasised the company’s ongoing focus on strategic growth initiatives, including high-margin products and global market expansion. The results underscore Yokohama Rubber’s resilience and adaptability in a challenging economic environment.

Wabash, a leading supplier of connected solutions for the transportation, logistics and distribution industries, has renewed its strategic agreement with the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, one of the world’s largest tyre companies.

The agreement is expected to further strengthens Goodyear’s position as the preferred tyre supplier for Wabash's van, tank and platform trailers, and will also provide Wabash customers with full-service tyre management support.

Richard Mansilla, Vice-President, global supply chain at Wabash, said, “We are excited to continue our long-standing relationship with Goodyear. This agreement strengthens our supply chain with a premium brand, enhances customer support and contributes to the continued growth of the Wabash ecosystem. We look forward to building on our shared commitment to industry innovation and exceptional service.”

For over 15 years, Goodyear has been the equipping Wabash with tyres for its trailer product lines.

Joe Burke, Vice-President of Goodyear’s North America Commercial business, said, “Goodyear's collaboration with Wabash underscores our combined focus to deliver high-quality, innovative products and seamless, end-to-end services to van, tank and platform trailer customers. We are excited to continue advancing solutions that enhance the Wabash customer experience and help ensure they carry their cargo with confidence.”

Continental, one of the leading tyre and automotive technology suppliers, has launched its new fuel-efficient, long haul drive tyre – Conti HDL 3 EP - for the United States Market.

The company stated that the new tyre combines high-structure carbon black and silica technology to deliver a well-balanced mix of rolling resistance and durability. It features a polymer matrix-bound silica compound, which enables up to 10 percent better rolling resistance compared to its predecessor and is SmartWay verified for Class 8 long haul tractor trailers.

Shaun Uys, Head of Continental’s Truck Tyre Replacement Business in the US, said, “The Conti HDL 3 EP was purposefully designed with a fleet’s needs in mind – from being built on 3G Casing for maximum retreadability, to its improved rolling resistance and even wear. This premium long-haul tire was designed to help fleets achieve their lowest overall driving cost.”

The Conti HDL 3 EP comes with groove geometry reduces stone retention, and the tyre offers up to 15 percent improved cut and chip resistance, further extending its lifespan.

It is built on Continental 3G Casing that has a 240-245 mm retread width, and features a state-of-the-art belt package that reduces heat, increases durability, and maximises retreadability. It can also be paired with Continental’s ContiConnect Live digital tyre monitoring system.

The tyre will be available for the replacement market in size 295/75R22.5 in load range G, and additional sizes to be introduced by Q1 2025. 

Bridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone), one of the leading trye manufacturers, is all set to supply the Battlax Hypersport S23 tyres as original equipment for the Kawasaki Ninja 1100SX.

The Battlax Hypersport S23 tyres feature a new pattern design, which the company said balances optimal changes in contact patch stiffness with exceptional water drainage properties for riding on wet surfaces. The tyres provide both enhanced grip and handling stability during straight-line riding and at large lean angles.

The Kawasaki Ninja 1100SX offers riding performance and aggressive styling. It is equipped with the KQS (Kawasaki Quick Shifter), a USB Type-C power socket, and a smartphone connectivity function.

The partners have co-developed the tyres through a long-term co-creation development.

Using racing as a ‘mobile laboratory,’ Bridgestone aims to refine technology in extreme conditions, evolving and connecting the innovation to the development of replacement tyres for the future under the concept ‘From Circuit to Street.’

The tyre maker is banking on motorsports activities to continuously evolve its ‘Dan-Totsu’ products and strengthen its global premium niche strategy in the premium motorcycle tyre business.

Hankook Tire has launched the fourth generation Ventus evo, a sporty ultra-high-performance summer tyre for changeable conditions.

Featuring a new mixture developed using artificial intelligence (AI), the tyre provides excellent wet grip and low rolling resistance. The wide drainage grooves work in tandem with the optimised tyre contact area to facilitate good evacuation of water and reduce the risk of aquaplaning, while the extra-rigid sidewalls and tread blocks provide stability during cornering and shorten the dry braking distance by six percent compared to the third-generation tyre. The innovative mixture, on the other hand, ensures low rolling resistance despite the high grip. This reduces fuel consumption and provides a 32 percent increase in mileage compared to the third-generation tyre.

Klaus Krause, Vice President and Head of Europe Technical Centre, Hankook, said, “With the fourth generation of the Ventus evo, we are setting new standards. We decided early on to leverage AI in the development of tyre mixtures and were able to successfully transform the laboratory results into high-quality industrial processes. Today, we’re seeing the benefits of that effort. With its innovative mixture ratio, the Ventus evo overcomes traditional trade-offs, delivering uncompromising excellence in performance, safety and mileage.”

The new Ventus evo and Ventus evo SUV will be available in stores in 58 sizes by this summer, with plans to expand the offering to 94 sizes – from 17 to 23 inches in widths from 205 to 325 in the 65 to 30 series and with speed indexes from V to (Y) – by the end of next year.