From a unit-shipment point of view, China is a distant No. 2 behind India, which accounted for half of the 348,291 tires imported last year.
Among Indian companies active in the farm drive tire sector are Balkrishna Industries Ltd., CEAT Specialty Tires, Mahansaria Tyres Ltd., Speedways Rubber Co. Ltd. and Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd.'s OHT business unit.
This sector has the most significant domestic counterpart, as Bridgestone Americas Inc., Titan International Inc., Specialty Tires of America and Yokohama-TWS all produce farm/forestry tires in the U.S.
The sector has seen significant churn in the past year to 18 months, with Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd.'s takeover of Trelleborg Wheel Systems, which operates two farm/forestry tire factories in the U.S., and its pending takeover of Goodyear's global OTR business, as well as Titan's acquisition of Carlstar Companies Inc., which produces specialty tires at two plants in Tennessee.
Titan's purchase of Carlstar occurred in the wake of the West Chicago, Ill.-based company's lackluster fiscal 2023 performance. After double-digit growth in fiscal 2022, the company suffered double-digit drops in earnings and sales last year, reflecting the off-highway sector's destocking of surplus inventories built up during the supply-chain crisis of 2022-23.
Titan did not respond to a Tire Business request to discuss the company's plans for Carlstar, but it did provide some insight in an August investor presentation. Among the highlights of that document:
- Titan's $296 million acquisition of Carlstar makes Titan a "One Stop Shop"—meaning aftermarket customers can get tires across multiple product types from a single supplier, reducing complexity and offering value from the prospects of increased efficiency;
- Innovative products—Carlstar further diversifies Titan's product portfolio and makes it the No. 1 or No. 2 in its key product segments, including outdoor power equipment, power sports and high-speed trailers.
- Leading brands—Carlstar's key brands, including Carlstar, ITP and Cragar, will fit in with Titan's existing brands, and will supplement Titan's multi-tier brand strategy
- Enhanced distribution—Carlstar's network of a dozen internally managed distribution centers ensures product availability within 48 hours for 98 percent of customers, regardless of where the product is produced; and
- Manufacturing—Carlstar's factories in Meizhou, China; Clinton and Jackson, Tenn., and Aiken, S.C., bring new opportunities for Titan to optimize the manufacturing location of its product.
Carlstar will boost Titan's annual sales by roughly $600 million.
Titan anticipates the deal will generate $5 million to $6 million in bottom-line synergy benefits in fiscal 2024 and up to $30 million longer term.
India's measurable presence in the U.S. off-highway tire sector comes despite import duties imposed on new pneumatic OTR tires up to 39 inches in rim diameter and designed for use principally on vehicles and implements in the agricultural, mining and construction, and other industrial sectors.
The duties imposed — and reconfirmed earlier this year—are considered relatively insignificant: antidumping of 3.67 percent industrywide and countervailing duties of 4.72 percent to 5.36 percent on specific companies.
The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association does not publish shipment data on agricultural or off-highway tires, so it's not possible to make direct comparisons.
Yokohama Rubber's acquisition of TWS not only expands Yokohama's off-highway portfolio to include agricultural/forestry and industrial tires, it also brought the Japanese company its first North America production capacity in the off-highway sector: the former Mitas Tires factory in Charles City, Iowa, and the Trelleborg Wheel tire plant in Spartanburg, S.C.
This alignment will help support Yokohama-TWS' "local for local" strategy, according to Paolo Pompei, outgoing president of Yokohama TWS.
Yokohama, however, is keeping the two businesses separate, operating as Yokohama Off-Highway Tire (Alliance, Galaxy and Primex brands) and Yokohama-TWS (Cultor, Mitas and Trelleborg brands).
Prior to the completion of deal, Trelleborg Wheel reported 8.1 percent higher sales or $348.6 million in the quarter ended March 31, thanks in part to a "favorable market trend" in North America and in the global OE agricultural tire business for the sales increase.
Yokohama's deal to buy Goodyear's OTR tire business—expected to be concluded in early 2025—should add $675 million or more of additional annual sales revenue to Yokohama's balance sheet.
Yokohama said it will integrate Goodyear's product line, which includes one factory, in Tatsuno, Japan, and a retread plant in North Bay, Ontario, and a range of OTR tire covering sizes with rim diameters up 63 inches, into its OTR portfolio.
For those companies handling forklift and/or solid tires, a recent market study by Data Bridge Market Research projects that demand for battery-driven electric forklifts will grow nearly 8.5 percent annually through 2029, based in part on the adoption of more efficient lithium-ion batteries.
Demand will be higher in Europe, the study said, because of new regulations calling for more sustainable and recyclable batteries.
The study also said pneumatic tire-shod forklifts will continue to have the largest market share during the forecast period, with demand throughout the Asia-Pacific region dominating new orders, due to the preponderance of large construction, mining, heavy machinery, and marine freight industries in this region.