Reflecting the shifting currency values and growth strategies globally, the Rubber & Plastics News global top 75 tire makers saw a number of changes this year, including Bridgestone Corp. jumping to the No. 1 spot to replace Michelin, which had held that rank for four straight years.
Meanwhile, Hankook Tire Co. Ltd. surged ahead of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., and Kumho Tire Co. Inc. moved ahead of Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. into the No. 8 and 10 spots.
The rankings, based on fiscal 2005 sales, also saw Taiwan´s Cheng Shin Rubber/Maxxis International eclipse the billion-dollar sales mark. Next year there could be two more-China´s Triangle Group Co. Ltd. and India´s Apollo Tyres Ltd. (based on its acquisition of South Africa´s Dunlop Tyres International).
Overall, the global market grew 9 percent last year to an estimated $101 billion. Bridgestone, Michelin and Goodyear account for 53 percent of the world market, and the 10 largest makers represent nearly 77 percent.
Bridgestone´s move to No. 1 was aided by an 11.6-percent gain in tire division sales over 2005 versus Michelin´s 3.6-percent improvement. Bridgestone also benefited slightly from a change in the yen/dollar exchange rate; the euro/dollar rate was unchanged from 2004 to 2005.
The company´s position is further solidified by its ownership stake in BRISA/Bridgestone-Sabanci Tire Mfg. in Turkey, which posted sales of $432.2 million.
Goodyear reported 6-percent growth in its tire business and is ranked a close third at $17.5 billion, a tick behind Michelin´s $17.9 billion and Bridgestone´s $18.3 billion.
Cooper Tire could regain the No. 8 ranking this year, as sales are predicted to increase by about $500 million based on the integration of the Chengshan Shandong activities in China.
Other companies making noticeable sales jumps in 2005 were GPX International Tire-the new company formed in the merger of Galaxy Tire Co. and Dynamic Tire Corp.-and Sibur-Russkie Shiny and Nexen Tire Corp., which reported 48.5- and 55.3-percent sales growth, respectively. Separately, Nexen announced plans for a plant in China.
Looking ahead, acquisitions made in recent months will scramble the rankings next year. Besides Cooper´s purchase of majority control of Chengshan Shandong, two other firms made moves in the past year:
—Apollo Tyres´ $62 million acquisition of Dunlop Tyres International will boost Apollo´s annual sales by more than $200 million, pushing Apollo north of $900 million in sales overall.
—Titan International Inc.´s separate purchases of Goodyear´s North American farm tire business and Continental Tire North America Inc.´s off-the-road tire operation will add $300 million or more to Titan´s ledger, boosting its tire business to about $500 million in annual sales. That would position Titan among the top 25 tire makers worldwide.
Average sales per employee of the major tire makers slipped 1.7 percent to $194,917, with a high of $452,222 for Hankook and a low of $40,514 for Amtel-Vredestein N.V.
Finland´s Nokian Tyres P.L.C. topped the earnings list this past year, posting an operating profit/sales ratio of 16.9 percent and a net profit/sales ratio of 11.9 percent.
On the pre-tax side, Continental A.G. followed at 10.9 percent and Hankook at 9.9 percent. Pirelli & C. S.p.A. posted net earnings of 8.8 percent and Hankook posted 7.3 percent.
The average operating profit ratio for the 17 major tire companies for which data were available was 7.6 percent. The net ratio was 5.1 percent.
Only Cooper Tire and Amtel-Vredestein N.V. were in the red in 2005.
Of the 75 companies listed this year, 17 are from China; nine from India; eight from the U.S.; five each from Taiwan and Japan; four from Russia; three from South Korea; two each from Italy and Iran; and one each from Argentina, Belarus, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam.
New to the rankings this year are: Dena Tire & Rubber Mfg. Co. Ltd. of Tehran, Iran, at No. 60; J.V. Matador-Omskshina of Omsk, Russia, at No. 73; and Falcon Tyres Ltd. of Mysore, India, at No. 75.