Transportation department issues 19 new tire factory codes

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Transportation issued 19 new DOT plant identification codes in the past year for tire factories worldwide, including 14 in China and two each in India and Serbia.

Ten of the 19 are for factories producing motorcycle tires and/or tubes.

These additions expand the list of tire plant IDs to 1,111, although 100 of these are assigned to factories that are closed/no longer exist and 30 or so to facilities that don't make tires.

There also are at least 50 to 60 factories worldwide with two or more distinct "original" two-place codes, leaving roughly 950 factories worldwide that are considered "active."

Among the new codes are ones for factories in Serbia under construction by China's Linglong Group and Toyo Tire Corp. of Japan, whose factories are due onstream later this year or in early 2023.

Another one is assigned to a Trelleborg Wheel Systems' joint venture in India, Syam Trelleborg Tires L.L.P. That plant, in Baruch, Gujarat Province, was built to produce motorcycle and other two-wheeler tires in partnership with Yogesh Agencies & Investments Pvt. Ltd.

Linglong has two new codes among those issued since early 2021. The other is for a plant in Changchun, Jilin Province, China, that came onstream in January.

The new codes issued since early 2021 are for:

• Blackcat Tire (Fujian) Co. Ltd., Zhangping, Fujian Province, China — 05T;
• Hubei Yuexin Rubber Co. Ltd., Xiaogen, Hubei Province, China — 05E;
• Jiangsu Chengtai Vehicle Co. Ltd., in Lianyungan, Jiangsu Province, China — 05D;
• Jilin Linglong Tyre Co., Ltd., Changchun, Jilin Province, China — 05V;
• Linglong International Europe D.o.o., Zrenjanin, Serbia — 05H;
• •Ningbo Junkai Rubber Industry & Traded Co. Ltd., Yuyao, Zhejiang Province, China — 05A;
• Powermax Rubber Factory, Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, India — 05N;
• Qingdao Huaxu Haocheng Industry & Trading Co. Ltd., Qingdao, Shandong Province, China — 05W;
• Qingzhou Rydanz Rubber Science & Technology Co. Ltd., Weifang, Shandong Province, China – 05M;
• Qingdao Tongda Rubber Product Factory, Qingdao, Shandong Province, — 05U;
• Service Industries Ltd., Karachi, Pakistan — 05R;
• Shandong Bailong Tyre Co. Ltd., Linyi, Shandong Province, China — 05K;
• Shandong Chuanghua Tire Co. Ltd., Linyi, Shandong Province, China — 05B
• Shandong Dongsheng Rubber Technology Co. Ltd., Rizhao, Shandong Province, China — 05L
• Syam Trelleborg Tires L.L.P., Baruch, Gujarat, India — 05J
• Toyo Tire Serbia d.o.d. Boegrad, Indija/Vojvodina, Serbia — 05C;
• Xinjiang Jialun Tire Co. Ltd., Aksu, Xinjiang Province, China — 05F;
• Zhongce Rubber (Anji) Co. Ltd., Anji, Zhejiang Province, China — 05X
• Zhucheng Huawei Rubber Co. Ltd., Weifang, Shandong Province, China — 05P

Tire makers seeking to sell their products in the U.S. are not required to test their tires, but tires sold in the U.S. are subject to random testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), with penalties assessed if the tires fail to be in compliance with federal standards.

Tires found not in compliance with these federal standards will be subject to recall, and the manufacturer is subject to civil penalties of up to $6,000 per tire—up to a maximum of $17.4 million for any related series of violations, according to agency documents.

In 2015-16, the DOT shifted the process for tire plant IDs to a three-place alpha-numeric code, after determining the two-place system in place up to then would be insufficient to handle expected demand growth.

The two-place codes will continue to be valid through 2025. To simplify the upgrading process for those factories with two-place codes, the DOT in all but a few cases added the numeral "1" in front of the existing code to create the new code. Exceptions to this practice are those codes that include "G," "S" or "Q" due to the potential for misreading an S for a 2 or G and Q for 0, for example.

Among the companies granted a DOT code in the past year:

• Blackcat Tire (Fujian) — also known as Jinde Rubber (Fujian) Co. Ltd — is a motorcycle and bicycle tire and tube producer with a factory in Jinde, Fujian Province. It uses Blackcat as its brand name.
• Jiangsu Chentai Vehicle Co. Ltd. is a producer of motorcycle, industrial (lawn/garden, golf cart, etc.), specialty trailer and ATV tires. The is the result of a merger in 2018 involving Qindao Chengtai Handtruck Co. Ltd. and Qingdao Morwin Rubberware Co. Ltd.
• Ningbo City Junkai Rubber Industry and Trade Co. Ltd. is a manufacturer of tires for motorcycle, small recreational vehicles and electric vehicles. The company goes to market using the Junkai brand name and claims to export to customers in Europe and the U.S.
• Powermax Rubber Factory is Chennai, India-based company focused on tires for two- and three-wheeled vehicles, farm equipment, light commercial and off-road vehicles.
• Qingdao Huaxuhaocheng Industry and Trade Co. Ltd., based in Qingdao, Shandong, China, focuses on tires and tubes for motorcycles and tricycles, sold under the Superduper brand name.
• Qingzhou Rydanz Rubber Science & Technology Co. Ltd. — also known as Duratti Rubber Corpration Co. Ltd., a producer of consumer and commercial tires under the Rydanz brand name.
• Qingdao Tongda Rubber Product Factory — a rubber products maker with no known tire assets.
• Service Industries Ltd. is a Lahore, Pakistan-based producer of two-wheeler and farm tires and other rubber products under the Servis brand name. The new code is for a joint-venture truck-tire plant in Karachi, Pakistan, built in partnership with China's Chaoyang Long March Tyre Co. Ltd.
• Shandong Bailong Tyre is a Shandong, CHina-based producer of tires and tubes for motorcycles and ATVs. It is part of Union Industrial Group Co. Ltd., which goes to market with the Union, Ridestone, and Golden Unicorn brands.
• Shandong Dongsheng Rubber Technology Co. Ltd. is a Rizhao, Shandong, China-based producer of motorcycle tires, rubber processing machinery and recycled rubber, in business since 2003.
• Zhongce Rubber (Anji) Co. Ltd. is part of Zhongce Rubber Group's manufacturing network.
• Zucheng Huawei Rubber Co. Ltd. is a manufacturer of motorcycle tires and tubes, going to market under the Huawei brand name.

Tire Business was unable to secure detailed information on Hubei Yuexin Rubber Co. Ltd. or Xinjiang Jialun Tire Co. Ltd.