Bridgestone Thailand increases tyre prices Bangkok Post: 2 Mar 2011 Bridgestone increases tyre prices
Cites 'unprecedented' surge in rubber costsPressured by significantly more expensive natural rubber costs, Bridgestone Sales (Thailand) has raised its tyre prices for the second time in five months, by 5-9%.
Last October saw a 3-5% increase. This latest one, effective yesterday, varies by type and size of the tyres stems from the present high price of natural rubber, the key raw material in tyre production.
Nobuyuki Tamura, the managing director of Thailand's largest automotive tyre distributor, said the prices of natural rubber has steadily climbed since last year, adversely affecting Bridgestone's tyre production.
He did not specify the exact cost increase for Bridgestone's manufacturing.
Sales director Izumi Suyama said it is difficult to specify the cost of tyre production since the proportion of natural rubber varies depending on the types and sizes.
"We cannot replace the natural rubber with cheaper synthetic material because each type of tyres has its own proportion that will affect quality and performance," he said.
Pinyo Wangvatanakul, the manager for consumer retail sales, said costs of other raw materials such as steel, synthetic rubber, carbon black and relevant chemicals have also soared across the board.
The unprecedented surge in the prices of natural rubber is due to tight supply in the wake of heavy downpours and flooding that has affected plantations in the South, which is the key rubber plantation area, and other regions, explained Mr Pinyo.
As well, strong rubber demand from China and India, whose automotive industries are growing rapidly, also contributed to the supply shortage.
Bridgestone normally raises tyre prices by no more than 5%. However, the severity of the spike in the natural rubber prices forced it to implement yesterday's 5-9% increase.
Mr Tamura declined to give a sales target for this year.
But he said Bridgestone expects a 55-57% share of the local tyre replacement market, which is estimated at 7.5-8 million tyres annually.
Competition is now very fierce within the industry as the number of tyre brands available in the replacement market has doubled to 60 in recent years, ever since the government waived the duty on tyres imported from within the region.
Meanwhile, the Bridgestone Group in Thailand has joined Bridgestone units worldwide to celebrate the parent company's 80th anniversary yesterday.
As Bridgestone moves towards its 100th anniversary, it will refine its corporate philosophy and change the logo it has used for the past 30 years, while the new slogan will be: "Your Journey, Our Passion."
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/224252/bridgestone-increases-tyre-prices
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