BEIJING (Nov. 12, 2010)—China's government has issued a plan to deal with tire production overcapacity situation in the country, including a halt to new plant construction and a modernization of the tire industry.
The Tire Industry Policy, issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in September, calls for no new tire plant construction through 2011. The plan sets a minimum size of 1.2 million units per year for new truck tire projects and 6 million units annually for passenger tire factories. If a proposed tire plant is intended to produce both car and truck tires, it must meet a minimum requirement in every relevant category.
For large off-road tires, the policy sets the minimum annual production capacity at 30,000 units.
The policy favors radial over bias-ply tires, and encourages the production of tubeless tires. By 2014, the government intends to end production of bias tires for cars and cut such production of such tires for heavy trucks to 10 percent of output, and for light trucks to 15 percent.
Only aircraft tire production of bias tires will be allowed, the report said.
Among many other requirements, the ministry said it wants tire makers to participate in the natural rubber industry, from plantations to rubber processing factories. It also encourages the development of synthetic rubber for the tire industry, and to increase the proportion of SR in tires vs. NR.