Tyre Production Down 10% Due to Rubber Shortage - ATMA

New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) Production at some tyre plants in India declined 10 per cent in July due to non-availability of natural rubber, Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association said on Thursday.

The availability of domestic Natural Rubber (NR) has taken a turn for the worse during the ongoing fiscal.

Against the projected NR production of 60,000 tonnes in June 2024, the actual availability was just about 30,000 tonnes, the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) said in a statement.

"Some tyre plants of ATMA member companies have witnessed production sliding over 10 per cent in July owing to the NR crunch. Production planning is in total disarray," ATMA Director General Rajiv Budhraja said.

He further said, "Imported NR which can be imported only at two ports is being transported from one plant to the other just to keep the plants running since tyre is a continuous process industry."

While tyre companies do anticipate domestic deficits in NR for which imports are being contracted, a certain baseline quantity is expected from the domestic market. In the absence of such arrivals, plant-level manufacturing is at stake, Budhraja said.

The Tyre industry has put in large investments to meet the continued pick up in OE (Original Equipment) and replacement demand but raw material concerns are likely to play a spoilsport in the manufacturing story as far as the tyre sector is concerned, he added.