News from Notch Consulting, Inc.

August 14, 2020

Conti expects slight recovery for remainder of 2020

Filed under: Auto, Coronavirus/COVID-19, General, Tires — Notch @ 12:49 pm

Continental A.G.’s tire group expects a slight recovery in the tire market for the remainder of 2020, despite suffering a 23 percent drop in first-half sales revenue,

Rubber & Plastic News reports that Conti attributes decline in sales volumes for passenger and light truck tires to the negative impact the COVID-19 pandemic.

The German group said it expects demand for replacement tires for cars and light commercial vehicles to “normalize” in the third quarter, although that means volumes in Europe will be 10 percent to 15 percent lower than a year ago and 5 percent to 10 percent lower in North America.

Continental invests $4 million to expand Indiana site

Filed under: Auto, General, Rubber, Tires, Uncategorized — Notch @ 12:48 pm

Rubber & Plastic News reports that Continental A.G. is planning a $4 million expansion of their Auburn, Indiana facility, transforming the facility into a research, development and technology hub for its ContiTech Vibration Control business.

The $4 million investment will not only upgrade the facility, it will bring more than 45 new jobs to northeastern Indiana, according a joint news release issued by Continental and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. It also will allow ContiTech to consolidate its vibration control technical center operations, currently in Michigan and Canada.

The Indiana facility should be fully operational by 2024.

Michelin launches fuel-efficient trailer tire

Filed under: Uncategorized — Notch @ 12:48 pm

Rubber & Plastic News reports that Michelin North America Inc. has unveiled the Michelin X One Line Energy T2 tire, targeting the dry-van truck load, refrigerated truck-load and tanker segments. The tire offers 11% lower rolling resistance when used in the trailer position, according to Michelin.

“Michelin is committed to investing in our X One technology. This new Michelin X One Line Energy T2 product delivers both improved tread wear while providing fuel and weight savings, lowering the total cost of ownership for fleets, especially during this economically challenged time in the trucking industry.”

Despite drop in sales, Apollo sees strong recovery

Filed under: General, Rubber, Tires — Notch @ 12:45 pm

Apollo Tyres Ltd. suffered a 34 percent drop in sales in the quarter ended June 30, although the company reported a strong recovery throughout the month of June, according to Rubber & Plastic News.

“While the first half of the first quarter was almost a complete washout, our performance has been excellent since the markets opened up, especially in the replacement market,” Apollo Chairman Onkar Kanwar said.

Apollo also reports its European operations results were better than the industry average, despite COVID-related challenges.

U.S. auto sales outlook is still low, but shows improvement

Filed under: Auto, Coronavirus/COVID-19, General — Notch @ 12:45 pm

Rubber & Plastic News reports that the outlook for auto sales for the remainder of 2020 is better than it was a few months ago, though far from a banner year.

A recovery began almost as abruptly as things fell apart in the spring, according to analysts who gave an economic overview of light-vehicle production and sales in a Zoom presentation Aug. 5 during the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars

But it will take that recovery a long time to get back to the 17 million-plus U.S. sales levels of previous years.

IHS Markit is calling for light vehicle sales of 13.3 million this year, compared with 17.1 million last year.

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