Capacity utilization of tire producers keeps dropping

The capacity utilization of China’s tire producers stayed sluggish since May and showed no sign of recovery in Jun.

The capacity utilization of all-steel tire producers in Shandong province was 62.61% in May, down 4.32 percentage points from Apr., or down 11.10 percentage points from the same period last year.

As of Jun. 2, the capacity utilization of all-steel tire producers in Shandong dipped 1.3 percentage points from late May, or down 4.71 percentage points from the same period a year ago.

In the first week of Jun., the capacity utilization of semi-steel tire producers in China was 65.56%, down 0.24 percentage points from the previous week, or down 7.34 percentage points year on year.

Wang Shanshan, an industry analyst, said many producers stopped or reduced production during the three-day Labor’s Day vacation for two to seven days, the capacity utilization was dragged down to the lowest in the second half of this year, and the overall capacity utilization in May was affected.

In addition, a source disclosed relevant authorities launched strict inspections over environment protection, production security and fire safety in Guangrao of Shandong province, and some small producers stopped production as they failed to meet the requirements.