TYRE

INDUSTRY
THE JAPAN AUTOMOBILE TYRE MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION,INC.
OF JAPAN 2006

http://www.jatma.or.jp
Contents

I. Brief History of the Japanese Tyre Industry 2

II. The Japanese Tyre Industry Today 4
1. Overview 4
2. Supply and Demand of Automobile Tyres 5
1) General Situations of Supply and Demand 5
2) Production Trends by Tyre Category 6
3) Trends in Sales of Original Equipment Tyres 7
4) Trends in Sales of Replacement Tyres 8
5) Trends in Supply and Demand of Winter Tyres 9
6) Trends in Sales of Export Tyres 10
7) Exports by Region of Destination 11
8) Imports by Region of Origin 12
III. Measures for Tyre Safety 13
1. Safety Standards for Automobile Tyres 13
2. Tyre Standards 13
3. Legal Limits on Tread Wear 14
4. Product Inspection 14
IV. Consideration for Environment 15
1. Approach to “Reduce” 15
2. Recycling Situation 16
V. Reference 18
1. Automobiles and Tyres 18
2. Distribution Channels 19
3. Raw Materials 20
4. Tyre Production Worldwide 21
The Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association, Inc. 22
JATMA Member Firms 23
Distribution of member companies’ automobile tyre plants
I. Brief History of the Japanese Tyre Industry

The production scale of the automobile tyre industry of Japan steadily increased from the second half of
1990s to 2000, supported by generally firm demand in the domestic market and active export. Demand
slowed for a period in 2001 due to the decline in export mainly for U.S., but afterward the production gener-
ally increased steadily. In 2005, while the domestic demand slightly decreased on a rubber consumption
basis, exports increased steadily supported by the worldwide active demand for tyres and led by the major
markets of North America and Europe. This resulted in the rubber consumption of 1.33 million tons (record
high), the number of tyres and the value of 187.37 million units and 1,047.4 billion yen, respectively. The
rubber consumption accounts for over 80% of the rubber industry of Japan.
Those situations in the past can be surveyed with some steps as follows:

(1) 1940s–1950s
The industry restructured after World War II, following the destruction of facilities and equipment. In the
early 1950s, after the long-term government regulation and during the Korean War, the industry enjoyed
special procurement and improved tyre demand. However, after the Korean War, deflationary pressures
affected the Japanese economy. Demand for tyres decreased sharply, and the tyre market experienced
considerable difficulty.

(2) 1960s
Around 1960, full-fledged motorization, including increased automobiles on the road and the advent of
expressways, spurred the industry toward a technological revolution, including expansion and automation
of equipment, as well as changes in the raw materials for tyres, and enjoyed a high-growth phase.

(3) 1970s
From 1970, the industry suffered demand downturns temporarily as a result of the first oil crisis. However,
exports led the growing Japanese economy. Tyre production expanded, as a result of an increase in the
number of vehicles produced and registered, and product diversification spurred demand.

(4) 1980s
Low economic growth under the worldwide recession following the second oil crisis (1979) combined with
the progress of radial tyres, which caused demand downturns, forcing the Japanese tyre industry into a
period of extreme difficulty. In 1983, however, a turnaround was seen owing to economic recovery in Japan
and in principal nations worldwide. In September 1985, however, tyre demand dropped, influenced by the
strong yen. Then in December 1986, the Japanese economy started to grow steadily, backed by solid
consumer spending and capital investment. As a result, the volume of rubber consumption reached the 1-
million-ton mark in 1989.

(5) 1990s
With the collapse of Japan’s “bubble economy,” the stock market crashed, corporate profits declined, the
job environment became uncertain, consumer spending and capital investment slowed, and the yen
appreciated causing further deepening of economic stagnation. Signs of recovery were seen in 1995, but in
1997 Japan entered a recession. In 1998 and 1999, large-scale restructuring in the financial sector and the
introduction of foreign capital into the automotive industry arose as serious concerns. On the other hand,
the global economy in general remained steady despite economic difficulties in Southeast Asia, supported
by the robust U.S. economy. In this environment, the Japanese tyre industry grew overall, although rubber
consumption fell below the 1-million-ton mark in 1993. Supported by brisk exports, Japanese tyre
production volume increased to 1.13 million tons in 1999, a record high.

(6) 2000-2005
The Japanese economy was on a trend of gentle recovering, promoting writing off of bad loans although it
was still suffering from 1990s problems. In such situation, the year of 2005, although there were factors of
anxiety such as continuing rise of crude oil prices, seemed to have entered a period of stable growth with
bright prospects of circumstances surrounding income and employment and supported by solid consumer
spending. On the other hand, the global economy as a whole continued to grow supported by the steady
U.S. economy and the expanding Chinese economy. In these situations, the demand for tyres in Japan in
2005 on a rubber consumption basis slightly decreased for the domestic market and increased for exports,
and as a result both production and sales were record high to be over 1.33 million tons.

2
 Figure 1: Changes in the Tyre and Automobile Industries Source: Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association; JATMA
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Automobile tyre 13,884 88,330 376,554 800,156 1,031,035 1,037,196 1,153,850 1,120,217 1,189,714 1,238,903 1,284,493 1,330,816
production
Automobile 31,597 481,551 5,289,157 11,042,884 13,486,796 10,195,536 10,140,796 9,777,191 10,257,315 10,286,318 10,511,518 10,799,659
production

Automobile tyre production (tons of rubber) Automobile production (number of vehicles)

1,300,000 13,000,000
Automobile production

1,200,000 12,000,000

1,100,000 11,000,000

1,000,000 10,000,000

900,000 9,000,000

800,000 8,000,000

700,000 7,000,000

600,000 6,000,000

500,000 5,000,000

400,000 4,000,000
Automobile tyre production

300,000 3,000,000

200,000 2,000,000

100,000 1,000,000

0 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

3
II. The Japanese Tyre Industry Today

1. Overview
(1) The production of automobile tyres in 2005 increased 3.6% from the previous year to record
high 1.33 million tons due to the rise in replacement and export tyres although original equip-
ment tyres decreased.
(2) The production ratio of the tyre industry within the rubber product industry (figures 2 and 3)
lowered to 82.2% with 0.2 percentage points down in rubber consumption and expanded to
49.3% with 0.1 point up in fiscal value from the previous year. (Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry’s dynamic statistics).
(3) The demand for automobile tyres continues to diversify. The Japanese tyre industry has
been promoting in Japan the establishment of 3R (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) activities with a
long range prospect for appropriate disposal of scrapped tyres and the reinforcement of various
educational activities for safety, and positively tackling issues in the world such as global har-
monization of safety standards for the facilitation of trade.
Figure 2: Rubber consumption (tons) Figure 3: Production value (billions of yen)
2005 2005
Non-tyre:
284,174 (17.8%)
Tyre: Non-tyre:
1,035.5 1,065.6
(49.3%) (50.7%)
Total: 1,597,233 Total: 2,101.2
Tyre:
1,313,059 (82.2%)

Figure 4: Changes in production of Japan’s rubber products — rubber consumption and value
Rubber consumption (thousands of tons) Value (billion yen)

1,300 1,500
Rubber consumption (tyre)
1,200 1,400

1,100 1,300

1,000 1,200
Value (non-tyre)
900 1,100

800 1,000

700 900
Value (tyre)
600 800

500 700

400 600

300 500
Rubber consumption (non-tyre)
200 400

0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 0

Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

Table 1: Changes in Japan’s tyre industry within the rubber product industry current production statistic
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Rubber consumption (tons) 1,076,130 1,105,625 1,101,151 1,134,577 1,153,850 1,120,217 1,171,906 1,221,309 1,266,353 1,313,059
Tyre
Production value (yen × 10 6) 954,485 998,028 980,547 954,044 910,466 888,066 920,895 932,685 984,052 1,035,544
Rubber consumption (tons) 344,801 348,615 309,780 302,841 304,361 285,382 261,020 264,642 270,067 284,174
Non-tyre
Production value (yen × 10 6) 1,260,024 1,263,403 1,123,975 1,082,930 1,088,026 1,024,836 992,382 993,426 1,017,504 1,065,629
Rubber consumption (tons) 1,420,931 1,454,240 1,410,931 1,437,418 1,458,211 1,405,599 1,432,926 1,485,951 1,536,420 1,597,233
Total
Production value (yen × 10 6) 2,214,509 2,261,431 2,104,522 2,036,974 1,998,492 1,912,902 1,913,277 1,926,111 2,001,556 2,101,173
N.B.: According to a revision of statistics standards, rubber consumption and production value of ‘Tyre’ for 2002 and later do not include; cart tyres, tubes and flaps.

4
 2. Supply and Demand of Automobile Tyres
1) General Situations of Supply and Demand
The automobile tyre production on a unit basis in 2005, increased 1.7% from the previous year,
to 187.37 million tyres. In terms of total rubber consumption, the production was 3.6% up from
the previous year, to 1.33 million tons. Sales were 201.85 million tyres with 3.1% increase,
which corresponds to 1.33 million tons of rubber consumption with 3.3% increase from the
previous year. Both production and sales were the record high. The main reasons for this
situation are the rise in the demand for winter tyres in the replacement market caused by
countrywide heavy snowfalls in December and the increase in export tyres mainly to U.S. and
Europe supported by growing demand of the world for tyres. Original equipment tyres, on the
other hand, decreased from the previous year influenced by an increase in imported passenger
car tyres.

Figure 5: Trends in automobile tyre production

Rubber consumption (thousands of tons) Millions of tyres

1,300 200

1,200 Rubber consumption 190

1,100 180

1,000 170

900 Number of tyres 160

800 150

700 140

600 130

500 120

0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 0

Table 2: Changes in production and sales of automobile tyres Source: METI, JATMA

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Tyres ( × 1000) 167,127 171,963 168,446 172,701 176,248 174,460 179,443 181,013 184,205 187,373
Production
Rubber (tons) 1,076,130 1,105,625 1,101,151 1,134,577 1,153,850 1,120,217 1,189,714 1,238,903 1,284,493 1,330,816
Original Tyres ( × 1000) 47,842 50,135 47,433 47,467 48,662 48,576 50,609 50,515 52,010 51,831
equipment Rubber (tons) 211,294 224,003 204,029 201,930 206,866 203,003 214,222 227,283 231,393 230,175
Tyres ( × 1000) 74,015 74,286 70,439 71,778 75,149 77,315 76,885 71,574 73,389 75,251
Replacement
Rubber (tons) 415,191 413,543 388,255 397,981 412,849 416,266 413,680 386,722 392,866 393,651
Sales

Tyres ( × 1000) 45,439 49,446 54,138 56,982 56,021 54,754 59,500 66,459 70,432 74,765
Exports
Rubber (tons) 445,900 468,759 522,155 544,345 531,958 502,576 564,662 632,517 664,738 707,354
Tyres ( × 1000) 167,296 173,867 172,010 176,227 179,832 180,645 186,994 188,548 195,831 201,847
Total
Rubber (tons) 1,072,385 1,106,305 1,114,439 1,144,256 1,151,673 1,121,845 1,192,564 1,246,522 1,288,997 1,331,180
Tyres ( × 1000) 14,448 16,747 15,548 14,174 14,833 15,987 18,136 19,485 23,793 29,108
Imports
Rubber (tons) 69,167 75,350 69,177 61,321 64,064 68,598 71,837 77,240 95,052 108,538
N.B.: 1. Number of tyres is the total of automobile and cart tyres.
2. Rubber consumption is the total for tyres, tubes, flaps and rim bands.

5
 2) Production Trends by Tyre Category
The total production of each category of automobile tyres in 2005 (on a rubber consumption
basis, which is also applied to the following in this paragraph) exceeded the previous year
supported by stable growth of export, although domestic demand slightly decreased (see table
3). All of the three main categories increased from the previous year, truck and bus tyres up
3.9%, light truck tyres up 1.4%, and passenger car tyres up 4.2%. As a result, the production
increased 3.6% from the previous year to 1.33 million tons, having been renewing the record
high every year since 2002.

Figure 6: Overall production trends (Figures below show percentage of total rubber consumption by tyre type.)
Rubber consumption (thousands of tons)

1,300

1,200 Truck and

bus tyres
27.5% 27.6%
1,100 27.1%
26.2 25.7
1,000 25.4 27.0 28.1 25.2
26.6
Light truck
900 tyres
13.6% 13.3%
14.8 13.7%
800 16.2 15.5
18.4 16.8 16.2
18.3
700

600
Passenger
500 46.1% car tyres
43.7 46.3 46.2% 46.4%
40.1 41.4 42.0 42.6 45.7
400

300

200
Others
100 15.0 14.8 14.2 13.1 13.9 13.6 13.2 13.0% 12.8% 12.7%

0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Table 3: Changes in production of each category of automobile tyres Source: METI

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Tyres ( × 1000) 11,113 11,063 11,520 12,277 11,803 11,320 12,184 13,262 14,021 14,633
Truck and bus tyres
Rubber (tons) 286,235 281,175 297,398 319,000 302,634 282,059 306,067 336,278 353,562 367,392
Tyres ( × 1000) 33,591 34,135 30,629 30,437 30,892 29,126 28,390 26,630 26,686 26,769
Light truck tyres
Rubber (tons) 197,095 203,247 184,831 183,638 186,854 173,901 176,598 169,816 174,534 176,971
Tyres ( × 1000) 110,504 115,156 114,609 118,690 121,726 122,459 127,438 130,323 132,386 134,802
Passenger car tyres
Rubber (tons) 431,371 457,687 462,742 483,722 504,631 511,721 550,415 572,438 592,679 617,598
Off-the-road, Industrial Tyres ( × 1000) 2,611 2,652 2,241 2,301 2,288 2,148 2,011 2,055 2,043 1,965
and Agricultural tyres Rubber (tons) 123,210 127,415 122,059 116,045 126,795 120,206 124,322 128,783 131,561 136,343
Tyres ( × 1000) 8,191 7,794 7,957 7,378 7,936 7,771 7,468 7,073 6,973 7,215
Motorcycle tyres
Rubber (tons) 13,757 13,530 14,286 13,806 15,395 15,557 14,504 13,994 14,017 14,755
Tyres ( × 1000) 1,117 1,163 1,490 1,618 1,603 1,636 1,952 1,670 2,096 1,989
Cart tyres
Rubber (tons) 3,316 3,533 4,697 5,043 4,808 4,921 5,873 5,147 6,707 6,376
Tubes and Flaps Rubber (tons) 21,146 19,038 15,138 13,323 12,733 11,852 11,935 12,447 11,433 11,381
Tyres ( × 1000) 167,127 171,963 168,446 172,701 176,248 174,460 179,443 181,013 184,205 187,373
Total
Rubber (tons) 1,076,130 1,105,625 1,101,151 1,134,577 1,153,850 1,120,217 1,189,714 1,238,903 1,284,493 1,330,816
N.B.: 1. Rubber consumption for each category is the total for tyres only.
2. The figures of truck and bus tyres, and light truck tyres cannot be compared with the previous year because of the shift of sizes between the two categories from 2002.

6
 3) Trends in Sales of Original Equipment Tyres
The sales of original equipment tyres in 2005 decreased both in units and in rubber
consumption from the previous year, to 51,83 million tyres, down 0.3%, and 230 thousand tons,
down 0.5%, respectively (see table 4). The main reason for this situation is the decline in the
sales of tyres produced in Japan due to substantial increase in imported passenger car tyres,
although the production of automobiles rose owing to steady demand for Japanese cars with
superior fuel economy. The demand for commercial vehicles increased from the second half of
the year due to the expansion of target vehicles of regulation for NOx and PM(particulate
materials) emitted by vehicles, and when looking at three main categories based on sales units,
truck and bus tyres increased 8.3% from the previous year, but light truck tyres decreased
1.3%, and passenger car tyres also decreased 0.9% owing to the above-mentioned effect of the
rise in imported original equipment tyres.

Figure 7: Original equipment tyre sales trends

Rubber consumption (thousands of tons) Millions of tyres

350 70

300 Number of tyres 60

250 50

200 40
Rubber consumption

150 30

0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 0

Table 4: Changes in sales of each category of original equipment tyres Source: JATMA
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Tyres ( × 1000) 794 846 549 449 554 728 776 1,236 1,115 1,207
Truck and bus tyres
Rubber (tons) 18,061 18,913 11,844 9,985 12,261 13,890 14,496 23,291 20,109 20,809
Tyres ( × 1000) 9,408 9,351 7,739 7,132 7,012 6,548 6,066 6,533 6,457 6,370
Light truck tyres
Rubber (tons) 49,088 50,860 40,902 37,286 36,003 32,527 30,415 33,742 34,647 33,171
Tyres ( × 1000) 31,567 34,001 32,997 33,802 35,088 35,380 37,954 37,546 38,986 38,633
Passenger car tyres
Rubber (tons) 119,581 129,763 128,395 131,763 136,506 135,869 149,002 150,244 153,310 150,253
Off-the-road, Industrial Tyres ( × 1000) 1,341 1,311 1,089 1,099 1,065 946 877 889 967 1,111
and Agricultural tyres Rubber (tons) 15,162 15,002 12,099 11,811 11,101 9,703 9,300 10,032 12,153 14,764
Tyres ( × 1000) 4,096 3,891 4,073 3,782 3,667 3,647 3,418 3,006 2,818 2,979
Motorcycle tyres
Rubber (tons) 7,351 7,318 7,723 7,449 7,225 7,258 6,772 6,326 6,408 6,987
Tyres ( × 1000) 636 735 986 1,203 1,276 1,327 1,518 1,305 1,667 1,531
Cart tyres
Rubber (tons) 2,051 2,147 3,066 3,636 3,770 3,756 4,237 3,648 4,766 4,191
Tyres ( × 1000) 47,842 50,135 47,433 47,467 48,662 48,576 50,609 50,515 52,010 51,831
Total
Rubber (tons) 211,294 224,003 204,029 201,930 206,866 203,003 214,222 227,283 231,393 230,175
N.B.: 1. Rubber consumption for each category is the total for tyres, tubes, flaps and rim bands.
2. Totals are for JATMA members and non-members.
3. Figures include only domestically produced tyres.
4. The figures of truck and bus tyres, and light truck tyres cannot be compared with the previous year because of the shift of sizes between the two categories from 2002.

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 4) Trends in Sales of Replacement Tyres
In 2005, replacement tyre sales in Japan increased from the previous year for two consecutive
years due to an increase in the demand for winter tyres mainly for passenger cars caused by
countrywide record snowfalls in December, with 75.25 million tyres, up 2.5%, corresponding to
390 thousand tons, up 0.2%, of rubber consumption (see table 5). By tyre category on a unit
basis, all of the main categories exceeded the previous year due to the above mentioned
increase in winter tyres: up 1.7% to 5.49 million in truck and bus tyres, up 0.1% to 14.39 million
in light truck tyres, and up 3.7% to 51.30 million in passenger car tyres. (See page 9 of “Trends
in Supply and Demand of Winter Tyres”)

Figure 8: Replacement tyre sales trends

Rubber consumption (thousands of tons) Millions of tyres

450 Rubber consumption 90

400 80

350 70
Number of tyres

300 60

250 50

200 40

150 30

0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 0

Table 5: Changes in sales of each type of replacement tyre Source: JATMA

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Tyres ( × 1000) 4,408 4,433 3,983 4,214 4,322 5,375 5,200 4,893 5,401 5,494
Truck and bus tyres
Rubber (tons) 109,969 107,698 96,400 103,998 105,537 118,370 113,726 106,979 112,566 110,887
Tyres ( × 1000) 17,876 17,807 16,519 16,697 17,164 15,965 15,027 13,701 14,368 14,389
Light truck tyres
Rubber (tons) 102,597 99,834 92,246 92,487 96,559 81,594 76,825 70,563 72,927 70,503
Tyres ( × 1000) 47,478 47,785 46,030 47,407 49,361 51,648 52,427 49,037 49,486 51,299
Passenger car tyres
Rubber (tons) 179,715 182,845 179,692 181,045 188,681 196,128 203,292 187,889 185,116 190,006
Off-the-road, Industrial Tyres ( × 1000) 1,156 1,186 1,042 1,066 1,137 1,091 1,048 1,055 1,093 1,093
and Agricultural tyres Rubber (tons) 18,428 18,367 15,434 15,944 17,116 15,612 15,421 16,902 17,780 17,928
Tyres ( × 1000) 2,960 2,961 2,779 2,324 3,104 3,182 3,133 2,843 2,994 2,930
Motorcycle tyres
Rubber (tons) 4,319 4,445 4,208 4,264 4,719 4,330 4,202 4,192 4,316 4,132
Tyres ( × 1000) 137 114 86 70 61 54 50 45 47 46
Cart tyres
Rubber (tons) 163 354 275 243 237 232 214 197 161 195
Tyres ( × 1000) 74,015 74,286 70,439 71,778 75,149 77,315 76,885 71,574 73,389 75,251
Total
Rubber (tons) 415,191 413,543 388,255 397,981 412,849 416,266 413,680 386,722 392,866 393,651
N.B.: 1. Rubber amounts for each category are the totals for tyres, tubes, flaps and rim bands.
2. Totals are for JATMA members and non-members.
3. The figures of truck and bus tyres, and light truck tyres cannot be compared with the previous year because of the shift of sizes between categories from 2002.

8
 5) Trends in Supply and Demand of Winter Tyres
Production of winter tyres in 2005 (see table 6) increased 3.3% on a unit basis from the previous
year, to 28.57 million tyres, the second largest volume next to 29.13 million tyres in 1997, where
passenger car tyres were record high with 22.08 million units, up 5.7% from the previous year.
The main reason for this situation was, in the replacement sales occupying about 75% of the
total demand for winter tyres, the demand expansion mainly of passenger car tyres due to the
record snowfall in December. The replacement winter tyre sales statistics by category (see
table 7) indicate that winter tyres for trucks and buses, light trucks and passenger cars all
increased, up 6.2% from the previous year to 2.03 million tyres, up 1.8% to 4.14 million tyres,
and up 10.3% to 15.96 million tyres, respectively. The total winter tyres increased 8.2% from the
previous year, to 22.13 million tyres, exceeding the previous year for two consecutive years.

Figure 9: Changes in winter tyre production and sales of replacement tyres

Millions of tyres Winter tyre production

25

20

15 Winter tyres sold for replacement

10

0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
N.B.: Figures from 1998 onward exclude all-season tyres.

Table 6: Changes in number of winter tyres produced and the share of winter tyres Source: JATMA
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Share of No. of tyres

Truck and bus tyres 3,407 3,621 1,075 1,226 1,416 1,716 1,784 1,703 2,070 2,100
winter tyres produced
( × 1000)

Light truck tyres 5,169 5,552 4,345 4,231 4,995 4,875 4,624 3,866 4,689 4,392
Passenger car tyres 18,904 19,954 17,616 17,805 17,906 18,095 19,431 18,947 20,893 22,079
Total 27,480 29,127 23,036 23,262 24,317 24,686 25,839 24,516 27,652 28,571
Truck and bus tyres 30.6 32.7 9.3 10.0 12.0 15.2 14.6 12.8 14.8 14.3
Light truck tyres 15.4 16.3 14.2 13.9 16.2 16.7 16.3 14.5 17.6 16.4
(%)

Passenger car tyres 17.1 16.4 15.3 15.0 14.7 14.8 15.2 14.5 15.8 16.4
Total 17.7 18.2 14.7 14.4 14.8 15.2 15.4 14.4 16.0 16.2
N.B.: 1. JATMA members
2. The share of winter tyres indicates the number of winter tyres produced as a percentage of all tyres produced.
3. Figures from 1998 onward exclude all-season tyres.
4. The figures of truck and bus tyres, and light truck tyres cannot be compared with the previous year because of the shift of sizes between the two categories from 2002.

Table 7: Changes in number of winter tyres sold for replacement and the share of winter tyres Source: JATMA
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
replacement

Truck and bus tyres 2,578 2,678 1,047 1,178 1,297 1,741 1,706 1,645 1,911 2,029
Share of No. of tyres

( × 1000)
winter tyres sold for

Light truck tyres 5,449 5,432 3,960 4,031 4,467 4,297 4,052 3,589 4,071 4,144
Passenger car tyres 15,258 15,138 13,370 14,104 14,115 15,921 16,378 14,276 14,463 15,956
Total 23,285 23,248 18,377 19,313 19,879 21,959 22,136 19,510 20,445 22,129
Truck and bus tyres 58.5 60.4 26.3 28.0 30.0 32.4 32.8 33.6 35.4 36.9
Light truck tyres 30.5 30.6 24.1 24.1 26.0 26.9 27.0 26.2 28.3 28.8
(%)

Passenger car tyres 32.2 31.8 29.2 29.8 28.6 30.8 31.2 29.1 29.2 31.1
Total 33.4 33.3 27.7 28.3 28.1 30.1 30.5 28.8 29.5 31.1
N.B.: 1. JATMA members
2. The share of winter tyres indicates the number of winter tyres sold for replacement as a percentage of all tyres sold for replacement.
3. Figures from 1998 onward exclude all-season tyres.
4. The figures of truck and bus tyres, and light truck tyres cannot be compared with the previous year because of the shift of sizes between the two categories from 2002.

9
 6) Trends in Sales of Export Tyres
Exports of automobile tyres in 2005 increased for four consecutive years, up 6.2% in unit terms
from the previous year, to 74.77 million tyres, and up 6.4% in terms of rubber consumption, to
710 thousand tons, which made the ratio of export to be 53.1%, up 1.5 points from the previous
year (see figure 18, page 19). Moreover, the value of exports in U.S. dollars also increased
11.9% from the previous year, to US$4,923.71 million (up 14.0% on a yen basis, to ¥542.4
billion, see table 10, page 11). The main reason for these figures is an active demand for tyres
supported by the growing world economy since the previous year. Exports by tyre category on a
unit basis were up 7.3% for truck and bus tyres, up 1.8% for light truck tyres, and up 7.3% for
passenger car tyres from the previous year.

Figure 10: Export tyre sales trends

Rubber consumption (thousands of tons) Millions of
tyres

650 100

600 90
Rubber consumption

550 80

500 70
Number of tyres

450 60

400 50

350 40

0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 0

Table 8: Changes in sales of each type of tyre for export Source: JATMA
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Tyres ( × 1000) 5,913 5,895 7,257 7,817 6,699 5,569 6,493 7,364 7,693 8,252
Truck and bus tyres
Rubber (tons) 164,603 162,032 197,439 212,340 182,795 155,823 182,398 210,140 217,848 232,049
Tyres ( × 1000) 6,613 7,511 7,466 7,607 8,071 8,540 9,684 9,655 10,008 10,192
Light truck tyres
Rubber (tons) 51,340 57,313 58,717 60,640 63,837 67,302 79,073 80,387 83,921 86,924
Tyres ( × 1000) 29,723 32,823 36,007 37,877 37,207 36,697 39,303 45,611 48,961 52,531
Passenger car tyres
Rubber (tons) 122,751 138,545 153,791 165,777 170,049 167,554 187,375 223,786 245,576 267,417
Off-the-road, Industrial Tyres ( × 1000) 649 715 675 657 645 595 606 590 579 529
and Agricultural tyres Rubber (tons) 95,724 100,220 101,696 94,686 104,032 100,418 103,930 106,204 105,583 108,459
Tyres ( × 1000) 2,171 2,187 2,310 2,666 3,138 3,100 3,039 2,860 2,798 2,747
Motorcycle tyres
Rubber (tons) 4,968 4,934 5,326 6,119 7,430 7,505 7,313 6,982 6,870 6,916
Tyres ( × 1000) 370 315 423 358 261 253 375 379 393 514
Cart tyres
Rubber (tons) 1,158 1,016 1,345 1,091 717 711 1,135 1,262 1,365 1,754
Flaps and rim bands Rubber (tons) 5,356 4,699 3,841 3,692 3,098 3,263 3,438 3,756 3,575 3,835
Tyres ( × 1000) 45,439 49,446 54,138 56,982 56,021 54,754 59,500 66,459 70,432 74,765
Total
Rubber (tons) 445,900 468,759 522,155 544,345 531,958 502,576 564,662 632,517 664,738 707,354
N.B.: 1. Rubber amounts for each category are the totals for tyres and tubes.
2. Totals are for JATMA members and non-members.
3. The figures of truck and bus tyres, and light truck tyres cannot be compared with the previous year because of the shift of sizes between the two categories from 2002.

10
 7) Exports by Region of Destination
In 2005, exports increased from the previous year in units, value and product weight, supported
by growing demand of the world for tyres with an increase in the exports to the main markets,
U.S. and Europe. Exports on a unit basis to every district except Southeast Asia exceeded the
previous year to make the total record high. Exports from Japan to Southeast Asia decreased
mainly due to the increase in the locally-based production by Japanese tyre manufacturers.

Figure 11: Changes in export trends by region

Rubber consumption (tons)

400,000

North America

300,000 Europe

Others

200,000

Southeast Asia
100,000
Middle East

0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Table 9: Export trends by region Product weight (tons) Source: Ministry of Finance customs records
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Southeast Asia 147,172 159,337 133,490 143,517 135,054 131,642 168,586 193,741 199,598 185,285
Middle East 170,266 151,996 131,787 129,358 128,804 143,016 165,986 195,726 212,408 238,686
Europe 186,410 180,883 253,011 250,852 255,274 250,464 242,137 286,026 294,503 319,818
North America 260,324 285,799 358,411 417,644 394,768 300,305 385,126 425,058 450,328 496,959
South and Central America 57,842 68,276 71,338 56,746 67,113 64,920 54,703 63,895 75,132 84,707
Africa 53,104 66,927 74,750 68,885 59,251 64,896 70,261 72,988 76,798 78,788
Oceania 66,098 67,861 69,152 70,041 73,560 86,416 94,628 97,804 95,597 99,927
Total 941,216 981,079 1,091,939 1,137,043 1,113,824 1,041,659 1,181,427 1,335,238 1,404,364 1,504,170

Table 10: Export trends by region in 2005 Source: Ministry of Finance customs records
No. of tyres (×1000) Value (FOB US$1,000) Product weight (tons)
Quantity Share Quantity Share Quantity Share
Southeast Asia 8,549 (88.0) 11.2 546,351 (97.6) 11.1 185,285 (92.8) 12.3
Middle East 11,416 (111.2) 14.9 688,061 (120.6) 14.0 238,686 (112.4) 15.9
Europe 20,567 (108.1) 26.9 1,222,552 (111.7) 24.8 319,818 (108.6) 21.3
North America 26,484 (111.7) 34.6 1,604,256 (114.8) 32.6 496,959 (110.4) 33.0
South and Central America 3,559 (119.5) 4.7 255,035 (119.3) 5.2 84,707 (112.7) 5.6
Africa 2,253 (103.8) 2.9 243,941 (105.2) 4.9 78,788 (102.6) 5.2
Oceania 3,711 (100.5) 4.8 363,509 (109.1) 7.4 99,927 (104.5) 6.7
Total 76,539 (106.9) 100.0 4,923,705 (111.9) 100.0 1,504,170 (107.1) 100.0
N.B.: Parentheses show comparisons with previous years (%).

11
 8) Imports by Region of Origin
The tyre import statistics for 2005 (see table 11 and table 12), on a unit basis increased 22.3%
from the previous year to 29.11 million tyres. By nation of origin, the first was Indonesia with
10.42 million tyres (27.4% increase from the previous year and accounts for 35.8% of the total
imports), the second was China with 4.41 million tyres (up 137.8% and accounts for 15.1%)
substantially advancing from the fifth in the previous year, the third was Thailand with 4.20
million tyres (up 9.4% and accounts for 14.4%), and the fourth was Taiwan with 2.86 million
tyres (up 8.1% and accounts for 9.8%). U.S. backed away from the fourth to the sixth with 2.15
million tyres (down 3.4% and accounts for 7.4%). The imports from local factories in Asia of
Japanese tyre manufacturers, such as in Indonesia, Thailand and China, increased not only for
the replacement market in Japan but also for the original equipment market. In this connection,
the import ratio for passenger car tyres was 20.9%, increasing 3.4 percentage points from the
previous year.

Figure 12: Changes in imports of each type of tyre

30 Millions of tyres

25

20 Total tyres

15

10
Passenger car tyres

0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Table 11: Trends in imports of each category of tyre Source: Ministry of Finance customs records
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Tyres (×1000) 11,102 12,901 11,893 10,334 10,547 11,321 13,618 14,173 18,830 23,810
Passenger car tyres
Value (yen x106) 45,601 54,264 47,172 36,051 32,641 36,033 40,305 38,525 46,852 59,089
Commercial Tyres (×1000) 769 956 1,068 1,270 1,234 1,262 1,301 1,884 1,648 1,657
vehicle tyres Value (yen x106) 6,079 7,627 8,014 8,071 7,471 7,491 5,944 6,101 6,730 7,085
Tyres (×1000) 2,282 2,607 2,432 2,455 2,900 3,140 2,939 3,129 3,038 3,347
Motorcycle tyres
Value (yen x106) 2,846 3,403 3,698 3,507 3,703 3,794 3,414 3,588 3,539 3,930
Tyres (×1000) 295 283 155 115 152 264 278 299 277 294
Other tyres
Value (yen x106) 1,223 1,391 1,203 1,058 1,298 1,544 1,269 1,885 2,177 2,863
Tubes and flaps Value (yen x106) 472 450 332 225 204 346 487 471 400 439
Tyres (×1000) 14,448 16,747 15,548 14,174 14,833 15,987 18,136 19,485 23,793 29,108
Total
Value (yen x106) 56,221 67,135 60,419 48,912 45,317 49,208 51,419 50,570 59,698 73,406
Import share of passenger car tyres (%) 12.3 13.6 13.1 11.3 11.1 11.5 13.1 14.1 17.5 20.9
Exchange rate (¥/US$) 105.30 118.70 130.90 116.30 107.77 121.53 125.31 115.93 108.18 110.16
N.B.: 1. Exchange rates are averages of spot rates for Tokyo interbank trade.
2. Import shares of passenger car tyres = Imports / Domestic demand of original equipment and replacement tyres + Imports

Table 12: Trends in imports of tyres by nation (×1000) Source: Ministry of Finance customs records
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
U.S.A. 6,282 6,879 5,928 4,343 3,646 3,799 4,068 3,222 2,229 2,153
Italy 543 1,181 1,140 685 559 423 303 305 283 206
Germany 614 636 565 816 765 875 936 928 1,353 1,072
France 1,049 943 755 1,101 886 513 549 543 578 543
Spain 720 832 799 753 823 659 551 597 451 380
Korea 1,092 959 793 1,061 1,124 920 1,089 1,340 1,824 2,293
Taiwan 2,081 2,570 2,362 2,430 2,645 2,806 2,824 2,874 2,642 2,855
Thailand 278 632 1,225 865 1,898 2,744 2,796 2,681 3,841 4,201
Indonesia 452 660 1,037 1,128 1,217 2,228 3,366 5,151 8,182 10,421
China 2 7 5 11 65 216 898 1,379 1,854 4,408
Others 1,335 1,448 939 981 1,205 804 756 465 556 576
Total imports 14,448 16,747 15,548 14,174 14,833 15,987 18,136 19,485 23,793 29,108

12
III. Measures for Tyre Safety

1. Safety Standards for Automobile Tyres

Various standards have been specified regarding tyres from the viewpoint of automobile safety
because tyres are automobile’s important parts.
Each individual state has its own legislation specifying the standards and the tyres are
requested to satisfy the standards of the state where the tyres are to be used. In Japan we have
the safety standards for road trucking vehicles and their detailed items, enacted by the Ministry
of National Land and Transportation.
In addition to these national standards, JATMA specifies guideline items for usage and
maintenance in “Standards for Selection, Usage and Maintenance” in an effort to enlighten those
involved for securing safety.

2. Tyre Standards
In addition to safety standards, JATMA publishes a definitive set of tyre standards in the annual
JATMA Year Book. Setting these standards is the responsibility of the Tyre Standards Committee,
mainly comprised of representatives of tyre makers, automakers, and related ministries and
agencies in the Japanese government.
The standards cover tyres, rims and valves in seven categories: passenger cars, light
trucks, trucks and buses, off-road vehicles, agricultural equipment, industrial vehicles and motor-
cycles.
The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has incorporated JATMA’s Tyre
Standards in its vehicle inspection procedures since 1982. Internationally, the standards rank as
authoritative guidelines together with the ETRTO standards of Europe and TRA standards of the
United States. The JATMA standards are also mentioned in the U.S. Department of Transporta-
tion’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and are mutually recognized standards for tyres
exported from Japan to Canada and Australia.

13
 3. Legal Limits on Tread Wear
Balding tyres are a threat to traffic safety, especially on wet roads. The Ministry of Land, Infra-
structure and Transport prescribes skidproof requirements in terms of minimum groove depth in
its Safety Standards for Road Transportation Vehicles. These requirements, which include wear
limits for high-speed and ordinary driving (see table 13,14), proscribe the use of tyres with a
groove depth shallower than that specified. Inspection often catch tyres with improper air pres-
sures, insufficient grooves or uneven wear (see figure 14).

4. Product Inspection
In 1954, JATMA started its tyre inspection activity at its branch offices.
Damaged tyres are now observed and checked at seven offices according to the requests
from their consumers to find causes of the damages and to provide advice to them regarding
correct usage of tyres.

Table 13: Figure 13:

Wear limit for automobile tyres Tyre groove depth and braking distance
Tyre type Groove depth limit
Passenger car tyres 1.6 mm Tyre size: 165 SR 13
Groove pattern: rib
Ultralight truck tyres 1.6 mm Air pressure: 170kPa(1.7kgf/cm2)
80
Light truck tyres 1.6 mm Weight: 425kg
70 Vehicle type: Passenger car, 1,800cc
Truck and bus tyres 1.6 mm Road: asphalt; wet
Motorcycle tyres 0.8 mm Distance (m) 60

50
80km/h
40
Table 14:
30
Wear limit for automobile tyres in high-speed 60km/h
driving 20

Tyre type Groove depth limit 10 40km/h

Passenger car tyres and ultralight truck tyres 1.6 mm 0

8 6 4 2 0
NEW TYRE

Light truck tyres 2.4 mm

Groove depth (mm)
Truck and bus tyres 3.2 mm

Figure 14: Breakdown of tyre defects (Parentheses show defect rates)

99
Insufficient tyre grooves (3.5)
71
Uneven wear (2.5)
11
External cuts (reaching the cord) (0.4)
15
Pins or alien matter (0.5)
182
Improper air pressure (6.5)
56
Others (2.0)
Notes:
1. Multiple tyre defects per vehicle are possible, thus the number of tyre defects does not correspond to the number of vehicles with tyre
defects.
2. The defect rate is the number of defects divided by the number of vehicles inspected.
3. Tyre inspections were carried out a total of 44 times (22 times on expressways and 22 times on ordinary roads) in 2005.
4. In the breakdown of tyre defects, the item “improper air pressure” includes insufficient pressure and excessive pressure.

14
IV. Consideration for Environment

1. Approach to “Reduce”
A new concept of “Reduce Index (Re Index)” focused on longer (wear) life and weight saving
has been adopted. The industry is making efforts aiming at an effect of 10% (expecting 3-5% of
actual reduction).

Table 15: Monitoring of Re Achievement Rates Source: JATMA

Re Achievement Rate
Category Monitored Size Classification
2004 2005 Average
Summer tyres – 107 107
Passenger car tyres 155/65R13
Studless tyres 105 110 108
Summer tyres – 109 109
Passenger car tyres 175/65R14
Studless tyres – – –
Summer tyres 110 112 111
Passenger car tyres 195/65R15
Studless tyres 105 105 105
Summer tyres 120 135 128
Passenger car tyres 215/45R17
Studless tyres 105 110 108
Summer tyres 102 128 115
Light truck tyres 145R12
Studless tyres – – –
Summer tyres 105 110 108
Light truck tyres 185R14
Studless tyres – – –
Summer tyres – 114 114
Light truck tyres 205/70R16
Studless tyres – – –
Summer tyres – – –
Light truck tyres 7.50R16
Studless tyres – – –
Summer tyres – – –
Truck and bus tyres 225/80R17.5
Studless tyres – 126 126
Summer tyres 113 110 112
Truck and bus tyres 11R22.5
Studless tyres – 123 123
N.B.: 1. Re Index = L ÷ M
Re Achievement Rate = Re Index × 100
where L=Wear Life Index (life index for the present model based on the previous model assumed as 100)
M=Weight Index (Weight index for the present model based on the previous model assumed as 100)
2. Tyres surveyed : Representative sizes selected in advance from replacement tyres for the domestic market.

15
 2. Recycling Situation
The volume of newly scrapped tyres in 2005 decreased, down 21 thousand tons of rubber in
total from the previous year, with the increase in “newly scrapped tyres on purchase of new
tyres” (up 44 thousand tons) and the substantial decrease in those “on scrapped automobiles”
(down 65 thousand tons) caused by the rise in exports of used cars in conjunction with internet
transactions. For several years the volume of newly scrapped tyres has remained at the level of
one hundred million tyres and one million tons. Concerning collection of scrapped tyres, the
trend toward thinking much of the economic principle due to the rise in crude oil prices in recent
years caused incomplete supply of scrapped tyres although there were adequate number of
users and enough demand. Resultantly, the total recycling rate was 88%, the same level as the
previous year. Therefore, taking hold of the routes for collecting scrapped tyres will become an
important problem. Regarding the situation of recycling, while Fuel for cement industry
continued to decrease from the previous year, Paper manufacturing greatly increased (162%
compared with the previous year) due to active operations of biomass boilers at paper mills. On
the other hand, Exported statistics on customs clearance basis (Ministry of Finance) indicates
an increase in used tyres (up 6% from the previous year) and a decrease in rubber wastes
(down 41%), which resulted in a great decline (21%) in total exports. This situation is
considered to have arisen because scrapped tyres and rubber wastes for exports were passed
on to paper mills and gasification furnaces for large-scale development projects for a wide area,
which is in line with our association’s policy aiming for the priority of domestic recycling.

Figure 15: Tyre Afterlife

Users

Replacement Scrapped vehicles

Tyre retailers
Scrap metal companies
Service stations
Dealers

Car dealers
Car repair shops
Trash collection
Automobile parts retailers
Others

Taxi, truck and bus companies

Municipalities

Distributors

Reclaimed rubber, exports, etc.

Contractors for collection,
(Mediating recycling work) transport and processing
Fuel for power generation

16
 Figure 16: Recycling of used tyres in 2005
Source: JATMA

Miscellaneous: 12% Heat utilization: 52%

Reclamation: 3%
Fuel for the cement industry: 18%
Distributors’ stock: 9%
Boilers, etc.: 1%
Steel manufacturing: 5%
Exported: 21% Gasification furnace: 3%

Retreaded tyre bases: 3% Paper manufacturing: 21%

Reclaimed rubber: 10% Tyre manufacturing: 2%
Other uses: 2% Metal refining: 1%
Reuse: 15% Generation electric power: 1%

Table 16: Newly scrapped tyres (Tyres: millions; Tons: thousands; ( ): % of total) Source: JATMA
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 05/04
On purchase of Tyres 78 79 74 79 80 83 82 78 80 84 105.0
new tyres Tons 798 819 783 791 842 860 835 806 827 871(85) 105.3
On scrapped Tyres 23 23 25 22 23 24 24 25 23 16 69.6
automobiles Tons 189 189 192 181 187 199 205 224 216 151(15) 69.9
Tyres 101 102 99 101 103 107 106 103 103 100 97.1
Total
Tons 987 1,008 975 972 1,029 1,059 1,040 1,030 1,043 1,022(100) 98.0

Table 17: Recycled tyres (Tons: thousands; % of total) Source: JATMA

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 05/04
Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons %
Retreaded tyre bases 81 79 65 60 50 43 41 36 33 35( 3) 106
Reuse

Reclaimed & powdered rubber 120 121 113 106 102 98 93 97 120 103(10) 86
Other uses 29 33 30 32 44 40 40 39 25 22( 2) 88
Subtotal A 230 233 208 198 196 181 174 172 178 160(15) 90
Fuel for cement industry 276 272 271 297 361 316 284 240 213 181(18) 85
Kind of recycling

Boilers, etc. 123 118 108 91 75 70 66 23 15 12( 1) 80

Domestic
Heat Utilization

Steel manufacturing – – 43 57 90 55 48 52 51( 5) 98

Gasification furnace – – – – – – – – 8 27( 3) 338
Metal refining 38 43 32 34 30 30 26 20 11 10( 1) 91
Tyre manufacturing 44 44 40 40 39 55 56 42 30 24( 2) 80
Paper manufacturing 28 27 37 32 42 70 86 70 130 210(21) 162
Generation of electric power – 8 7 9 7 6 6 8 9 9( 1) 100
Subtotal B 509 512 495 546 611 637 579 451 468 524(52) 112
Exported (for reuse & retreading) C 163 171 147 112 95 120 148 268 270 213(21) 79
Total recycling A + B + C 902 916 850 856 902 938 901 891 916 897(88) 98
Reclamation – – – – – 17 31 37 34 32( 3) 94
Others

Distributors’ stock – – – – – 104 108 102 93 93( 9) 100

Subtotal D 85 92 125 116 127 121 139 139 127 125(12) 98
Total used tyres A + B + C + D 987 1,008 975 972 1,029 1,059 1,040 1,030 1,043 1,022(100) 98

Table 18: Changes in production of retreaded tyres (Tyres: thousands; Rubber consumption: ton) Source: METI, JATMA
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Number of tyres 1,896 1,700 1,430 1,277 1,410 1,269 1,203 1,105 1,042 1,037
Compound rubber consumption 14,443 13,429 10,981 9,941 10,534 9,697 9,345 8,699 8,184 8,406
N.B.: Figures include imports of compound rubber.

17
V. Reference

1. Automobiles and Tyres

The number of automobiles registered as of year-end of 2005 (see table 19), was 75.36
million (increased 1.4% from the previous year), and the tyre industry provided 71.18 million
tyres (up 2.8% from the previous year), as replacement for those automobiles.
Automobile sales in the domestic market in 2005 remained at the same level as the previous
year, with an increase in commercial vehicles influenced by the effect of the expansion of the
target vehicles of the regulation for NOx and PM(particulate materials) and a decrease in
ordinary-sized passenger cars. On the other hand, automobile production (see table 20)
reached 10.80 million units (up 2.7% from the previous year) reflecting the increase in the
demand for Japanese cars for exports due to the steep rise in the price of crude oil. The
sales of original equipment tyres in units decreased to 46.21 million (down 0.7% from the
previous year) caused by the increase in tyres imported from locally-based plants in Asia of
Japanese tyre manufacturers.

Figure 17: Changes in the tyre and automobile industries

Millions of tyres Replacement tyre demand Millions of automobiles

60 120
Original equipment tyre sales

40 80

Automobile registrations

20 40
Automobile production

0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 0

Table 19: Changes in automobile registrations and demand for replacement tyres Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, JATMA
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
tyres registrations
Replacement Automobile

Passenger cars
(×1000) (×1000)

46,868 48,611 49,896 51,164 52,437 53,540 54,540 55,213 55,994 57,091
Trucks & Buses 21,427 21,078 20,600 20,237 19,889 19,544 19,125 18,677 18,337 18,270
Total 68,295 69,689 70,496 71,401 72,326 73,084 73,665 73,890 74,331 75,361
Passenger cars 47,478 47,785 46,030 47,407 49,361 51,648 52,427 49,037 49,486 51,299
Commercial vehicles 22,284 22,240 20,502 20,911 21,485 21,340 20,227 18,594 19,769 19,883
Total 69,762 70,025 66,532 68,318 70,846 72,988 72,654 67,631 69,255 71,182
N.B.: 1. Automobile registration figures exclude large special-use vehicles, carts, motorcycles and three-wheeled vehicles.
2. The category “commercial vehicles” includes truck and bus tyres and light truck tyres (including non-JATMA members).
3. Excludes tyres for special-use vehicles, motorcycles and transport vehicles

Table 20: Changes in automobile production and original equipment tyre sales Source: Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, JATMA
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Original Automobile
equipment production

Passenger cars 7,865 8,491 8,048 8,097 8,359 8,118 8,618 8,478 8,720 9,017
tyre sales (×1000)

Trucks & Buses 2,482 2,484 1,994 1,795 1,782 1,660 1,639 1,808 1,791 1,783
Total 10,347 10,975 10,042 9,892 10,141 9,778 10,257 10,286 10,511 10,800
Passenger cars 31,567 34,001 32,997 33,802 35,088 35,380 37,954 37,546 38,986 38,633
(×1000)

Commercial vehicles 10,202 10,197 8,288 7,581 7,566 7,275 6,842 7,769 7,572 7,577
Total 41,769 44,198 41,285 41,383 42,654 42,655 44,796 45,315 46,558 46,210
N.B.: 1. Automobile production figures exclude motorcycles.
2. The category “commercial vehicles” includes truck and bus tyres and light truck tyres (including non-JATMA members).
3. Excludes tyres for special-use vehicles, motorcycles and transport vehicles
4. Excludes imports

18
 2. Distribution Channels
The distribution of automobile tyres is divided into three channels: original equipment, replace-
ment and exports. Distribution channels for replacement tyres are particularly wide-ranging
with distributors as key stations.
The chief distribution channels are roughly divided into two types: direct sales and indirect
sales. Direct sales are those under which distributors sell tyres directly to some large users,
such as transport, bus and taxi companies, and government and municipal users. Indirect
sales are those under which dealers supply tyres to endusers.
Some 300 distributors and about 160 thousand dealers supply replacement tyres. On the
basis of rubber consumption in 2005, sales of tyres for new automobiles accounted for 17.3% of
the total, 29.6% for replacement tyres and 53.1% for exports. The ratio of exports further in-
creased.

Figure 18: Changes in sales share of automobile tyres (New rubber consumption)
Production share: %

80 41.6 42.4 46.9 47.6 46.2 44.9 47.3 Export

50.8 51.6 53.1

60

40 38.7 37.4 37.1

34.8 34.8 35.8 Replacement
34.7 31.0 30.5
29.6

20
Original
19.7 20.2 18.3 17.6 18.0 18.0 18.0 18.2 17.9 equipment
17.3
0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Figure 19: Distribution channels

manufacturers
Automobile

Cars for domestic use

Original equipment

Cars for export

Tyre specialty stores Large users

Car dealers Business users

Tyre manufacturers Replacement Distributors
(Stores)
Dealers

Service stations Private users

Car repair works

Automobile parts retailers Tyre dealers

Others Gas stations End

users
Car & related shops

Importers/Distributors Miscellaneous
Trading
companies
State trading companies Large fleets & buses
Export
Special customers Taxicabs
Direct
OEMs Construction &
mining companies

19
 3. Raw Materials
More than 100 raw materials are used in the production of automobile tyres, including raw rub-
ber, tyre cord, carbon black, bead wire and compounding ingredients. (See figure 20)
Approximately 60% of these materials are based on petroleum products, principally naph-
tha. As a result, the tyre industry is highly dependent on petroleum.
The relative consumption of raw materials has changed, reflecting the diversification of
products, as shown in table 22. Looking at the figures for 2005, the difference between natural
rubber and synthetic rubber in their consumption became larger due to the increase in truck
and bus tyres and a sharp rise in the price of crude oil. And steel cord consumption was on an
upward trend in the structural proportions of tyre cords due to growing in size of tyres.

Figure 20: Tyre raw material weight composition Table 21: Basic composition of compounding

Basic composition Examples

Compounding ingredients: 5.9%

Natural rubber,
Bead wire: 4.7% Rubber
Synthetic rubber

Compounding Vulcanizing agent

ingredients
Vulcanizing accelerator

2005 Vulcanizing accelerator aid

Rubber: 50.3%
figures
Natural rubber: 28.9% (100%) Antioxidant

Synthetic rubber: 21.4% Reinforcing agent:

25.8% Filler

Softener
Tyre cord: 13.3%

Steel cord: 10.2% Reinforcing agent Carbon black, Silica

Textile cord: 3.1% Tyre cord Steel cord, Textile cord

Table 22: Trends in consumption of the main raw materials used in automobile tyres (tons) Source: JATMA
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Steel 199,102 201,747 210,296 218,120 222,688 216,424 225,882 240,857 253,003 262,247
Nylon 35,191 34,893 27,842 25,243 25,099 24,139 24,710 24,499 24,593 24,320
Tyre cords

Polyester 38,875 39,275 40,081 40,884 43,835 44,291 46,155 48,750 50,514 51,652
Rayon 918 1,119 1,098 1,107 1,009 1,458 1,950 2,826 2,764 3,589
Others 1,062 563 528 521 544 590 614 530 688 830
Total 275,148 277,597 279,845 285,875 293,175 286,902 299,311 317,462 331,562 342,638
Natural rubber 590,945 588,111 593,418 621,088 633,993 619,316 654,723 685,963 699,279 741,042
Rubber

Synthetic rubber 468,019 494,041 488,006 522,575 512,285 496,146 525,331 537,024 539,746 548,864
Total 1,058,964 1,082,152 1,081,424 1,143,663 1,146,278 1,115,462 1,180,054 1,222,987 1,239,025 1,289,906
Reinforcing agent 560,318 575,904 566,309 590,323 596,156 579,721 609,247 632,068 635,246 662,714
N.B.: JATMA members

20
 4. Tyre Production Worldwide
Global production of automobile tyres in 2004 (see table 23), the most recent year for which
statistics are available, increased 4.0% from the previous year, to 1,273 million units. By vehicle
category, production of tyres for passenger cars increased 3.9% from the previous year, to 911
million units, while that for commercial vehicles increased 4.4%, to 362 million units.
Looking at each country (see table 24), in the United States, the world’s largest tyre-pro-
ducing nation, production decreased 1.3% from the previous year, to 233 million units, equal to
18.3% of the total. In Japan, the second largest tyre producer, the production increased 1.6%
from the previous year, to 173 million units, accounting for 13.6% of the total. The other major
tyre-producing nations, in order of volume manufactured, were Germany, the Republic of Korea,
France, and Italy. The United States and Japan together accounted for 31.9% of global tyre
production, decreasing 1.3 percentage points from the previous year, and the figures indicate a
trend of decline these years.

Figure 21: Share of world tyre production by geographic region in 2004

Passenger car tyres Commercial vehicle Total

Others: North North North

America: Others:
15.0% America: Others: America:
16.2% 19.1%
23.2% 29.5% 21.2%

Asia /
Oceania: Europe: Asia /
28.6% 13.2% Oceania:
29.3% Europe:
Europe: 26.1% Asia / Oceania:
22.5%
31.1%

South and Central South and Central

Africa: 1.5% America: 5.6% South and Central
Africa: 1.7% America: 8.3% America: 6.3%
Africa: 1.6%

Table 23: World tyre production by geographic area (units × 106) Table 24: Tyre production by leading manufacturing countries
Source: JATMA (units × 106)
Source: JATMA
2004
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2004 04/03
Share (%) 2002 2003 2004
Passenger car tyres 257 237 224 216 211 23.2 Share (%)
North Passenger car tyres 198 188 185 20.3 98.0
Commercial vehicle tyres 57 50 58 57 59 16.2
America U.S.A. Commercial vehicle tyres 48 48 49 13.4 101.3
Total 315 288 282 273 270 21.2
South and Passenger car tyres 44 42 44 46 51 5.6 Total 246 236 233 18.3 98.7
Central Commercial vehicle tyres 26 26 27 28 30 8.3 Passenger car tyres 29 29 30 3.3 104.5
America Total 71 68 71 75 81 6.3 Italy Commercial vehicle tyres 3 3 3 0.8 105.4
Passenger car tyres 231 227 234 234 238 26.1 Total 31 32 33 2.6 104.5
Europe Commercial vehicle tyres 45 43 44 45 48 13.2 Passenger car tyres 54 55 55 6.1 101.0
Total 276 270 277 279 286 22.5 France Commercial vehicle tyres 7 7 8 2.2 112.9
Passenger car tyres 12 12 13 13 14 1.5 Total 61 62 63 5.0 102.3
Africa Commercial vehicle tyres 6 6 6 6 6 1.7 Passenger car tyres 60 62 67 7.3 108.2
Total 18 18 19 20 20 1.6 Germany Commercial vehicle tyres 10 11 12 3.2 106.7
Passenger car tyres 227 226 237 259 261 28.6 Total 70 73 78 6.2 108.0
Asia/
107 106 107 112 112 31.1 Passenger car tyres 54 55 62 6.8 111.4
Oceania Commercial vehicle tyres Korea
Total 334 331 344 371 373 29.3 Commercial vehicle tyres 16 16 15 4.2 96.1
Passenger car tyres 65 78 90 108 137 15.0 Total 69 71 77 6.0 108.0
Others Commercial vehicle tyres 87 88 93 97 107 29.5 Passenger car tyres 127 130 132 14.5 101.5
Total 152 166 183 206 244 19.1 Japan Commercial vehicle tyres 41 40 41 11.2 102.0
Passenger car tyres 837 822 843 877 911 100.0 Total 168 170 173 13.6 101.6
Total Commercial vehicle tyres 328 319 334 347 362 100.0 N.B.: 1. “Commercial vehicle tyres” includes truck, bus and light truck tyres.
2. Totals were calculated in thousands and indicated in millions.
Total 1,165 1,141 1,177 1,224 1,273 100.0 Year-on-year comparisons were calculated in thousands.
N.B.: 1. “Commercial vehicle tyres” includes truck, bus and light truck tyres.
2. “Others” includes the People’s Republic of China, as well as several former Communist regions,
including the Commonwealth of Independent States and some countries in Eastern Europe.
3. Including some estimates.
4. Totals were calculated in thousands and indicated in millions.
21
The Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association, Inc.

Chairman: Tadanobu Nagumo, President, The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.

Vice-Chairman: Tetsuji Mino, President, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
Executive Director: Ichiro Shimizu
Established: September 1947 (incorporated in December 1968)
Head Office: Toranomon No. 33 Mori Bldg., 8F, 8-21, Toranomon 3-chome, Minato-ku,
Tokyo 105-0001, Japan
Tel.: 03 (3435) 9091 Fax: 03 (3435) 9097
Members: Bridgestone Corporation
Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.
Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd.
Nihon Michelin Tire Co., Ltd.

Organization
Under General Assembly and Board of Directors, four committees are established; Executive,
Technical, Export, and 3R Promotion. The committees have relevant subcommittees which promot-
ing their activities such as surveys and studies.

Replace Market Subcommittee

Executive Committee Research & Statistics Subcommittee

General Board of Public Relations Subcommittee

Assembly Directors
Logistics & Packaging Subcommittee

Intellectual Property Subcommittee

Board of Design Subcommittee

Inspectors
Tyre Standards
Technical Committee Verification Subcommittee

Tyre Road Noise and

Performance Testing Subcommittee

Material Technical Subcommittee

Environment Subcommittee

Tyre Inspection &

Technical Service Subcommittee

Tyre Standards Committee

Export Committee Export Affairs Subcommittee

3R- Subcommittee 1

3R Promotion Committee 3R- Subcommittee 2

3R- Subcommittee 3

3R- Pavement Subcommittee

3R- Powdered Rubber Subcommittee

22
JATMA Member Firms

Bridgestone Corporation Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd.

President Shoshi Arakawa President Yoshio Kataoka
Established: March 1, 1931 Established: August 1, 1945
Capital: ¥126,354 million Capital: ¥23,974 million
(as of the end of December 2005) (as of the end of March 2006)
Annual sales: ¥855,023 million Annual sales: ¥236,910 million
(fiscal year ended December 2005) (fiscal year ended March 2006)
Employees: 13,027 Employees: 3,147
(as of the end of December 2005) (as of the end of March 2006)
Head office: 10-1, Kyobashi 1-chome, Head office: 17-18, Edobori 1-chome,
Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-8340 Nishi-ku, Osaka,
Tel.: 03 (3567) 0111 Osaka Prefecture 550-8661
http://www.bridgestone.co.jp/ Tel.: 06 (6441) 8801
http://www.toyo-rubber.co.jp/

Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. Nihon Michelin Tire Co., Ltd.

President Tetsuji Mino President François Busson
Established: March 6, 1917 Established: June 10, 1975
Capital: ¥42,658 million Capital: ¥100 million
(as of the end of December 2005) (as of the end of December 2005)
Annual sales: ¥230,168 million Employees: 1,361
(fiscal year ended December 2005) (as of the end of December 2005)
Employees: 5,224 Head office: 6-1, Fujimi 1-chome,
(as of the end of December 2005) Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8176
Head office: 6-9, Wakinohama-cho 3-chome, Tel.: 03 (5210) 2700
Chuo-ku, Kobe, http://www.michelin.co.jp/
Hyogo Prefecture 651-0072
Tel.: 078 (265) 3000
http://www.srigroup.co.jp/

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.

President Tadanobu Nagumo
Established: October 13, 1917
Capital: ¥38,909 million
(as of the end of March 2006)
Annual sales: ¥288,144 million
(fiscal year ended March 2006)
Employees: 5,118
(as of the end of March 2006)
Head office: 36-11, Shimbashi 5-chome,
Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8685
Tel.: 03 (5400) 4531
http://www.yrc.co.jp/

23
Distribution of member companies’ automobile tyre plants
(Apr. 2006)

Hikone Plant (Bridgestone)

Izumiohtsu Plant (Sumitomo)

Onomichi Plant (Yokohama)

Sendai Plant (Toyo)

Shirakawa Plant (Sumitomo)

Hofu Plant (Bridgestone)

Nasu Plant (Bridgestone)
Shimonoseki Plant (Bridgestone)
Tochigi Plant (Bridgestone)
Amagi Plant (Bridgestone)
Ohta Plant (Nihon Michelin)
Kurume Plant (Bridgestone)
Tokyo Plant (Bridgestone)
Tosu Plant (Bridgestone)
Mishima Plant (Yokohama)

Shinshiro Plant (Yokohama)

Shinshirominami Plant (Yokohama)

Nagoya Plant (Sumitomo)

Mie Plant (Yokohama)

Miyazaki Plant (Sumitomo)
Kuwana Plant (Toyo)

The Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association, Inc.

h ttp://w w w .j atma.or.j p
Head Office No.33 Mori Bldg. 8Floor
3-8-21 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN 105-0001
General Affairs Department (General Affairs, Accounting) Phone. 03-3435-9091 Fax. 03-3435-9097
(Public Relations) Phone. 03-3435-9092 Fax. 03-3435-9097
Technical Department Phone. 03-3435-9094 Fax. 03-3435-9097
(Inspection • Accident Prevention) Phone. 03-3435-9092 Fax. 03-3435-9097
Business Affairs Department Phone. 03-3435-9095 Fax. 03-3435-9097
Recycling Division Phone. 03-5408-5051 Fax. 03-5408-5053
Branches
Hokkaido Branch 2-13 Higashi, Ohdori, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, JAPAN 060-0041 Phone. 011-281-3671 Fax. 011-241-4889
Tohoku Branch 1-7-8 Ichiban-cho, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, JAPAN 980-0811 Phone. 022-227-8118 Fax. 022-222-6979
Kanto Branch 1-9-6 Higashiueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN 110-0015 Phone. 03-3832-8661 Fax. 03-3832-8663
Chubu Branch 28-15 Takebashi-cho, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, JAPAN 453-0016 Phone. 052-452-3907 Fax. 052-452-3908
Kinki Branch 1-9-20 Dohshin, Kita-ku, Osaka, Osaka, JAPAN 530-0035 Phone. 06-6351-6747 Fax. 06-6351-2519
Chugoku Branch 8-18 Fukuro-machi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, JAPAN 730-0036 Phone. 082-247-1524 Fax. 082-247-9541
Kyushu Branch 2-20-4 Higashihie, Hakata-Ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, JAPAN 812-0007 Phone. 092-411-3536 Fax. 092-411-7781
Jul. 2006
 TYRE
INDUSTRY
THE JAPAN AUTOMOBILE TYRE MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION,INC.
OF JAPAN 2006

http://www.jatma.or.jp