China's Tire Exports: Rising Volume, Falling Value
On May 18, 2026, the General Administration of Customs released data on my country's rubber tire exports for the first four months of this year. The data clearly shows a contrasting pattern of "increased volume but decreased value": while export volume steadily expanded, export profitability declined, further deepening the predicament of "increased revenue but not increased profit." The contradiction between rising costs and market pressure has become more prominent, becoming the core problem currently facing the tire export industry.
Overall, from January to April 2026, my country's rubber tire exports reached 3.21 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%, demonstrating strong export resilience; however, the export value was 53.8 billion yuan, a slight year-on-year decrease of 0.1%.
This slight decrease coupled with a significant increase in export volume directly reflects the continued decline in tire export unit prices. This trend of increased volume but decreased price has broken the industry's previous positive expectation of "simultaneous increases in volume and price," highlighting the complex challenges currently facing the export market.
The performance of core product categories further confirms this trend. As the mainstay of tire exports, the export volume of newly inflated pneumatic rubber tires reached 3.08 million tons in the first four months, a year-on-year increase of 5.7%, basically in line with the overall export volume growth rate; the export value was 51.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 0.2%. In terms of tire quantity, 237.38 million newly inflated pneumatic rubber tires were exported, a year-on-year increase of 4.7%.
The growth rate of tire quantity was lower than that of weight, indicating that the average weight of exported tires has increased, but the downward pressure on unit prices has not eased.
The price pressure is even more pronounced in the core sub-category of automotive tires. From January to April, automotive tire exports reached 2.69 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.8%; the export value was 43.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 1.6%, a significantly larger decline than the overall export value decline.
This means that the decline in the unit price of automotive tire exports is greater, becoming a significant factor dragging down the overall export efficiency. Industry analysts believe that the pressure on automotive tire export prices is mainly due to intensified overseas competition and a weaker-than-expected recovery in end-user demand. Some companies are lowering prices to compete for market share, further compressing profit margins.
It is noteworthy that while export prices continue to decline, upstream raw material prices have been rising steadily, creating a reverse squeeze of "rising costs and falling selling prices," further exacerbating the industry's profitability situation.
Natural rubber is the largest raw material in tire production, accounting for more than 30% of the production cost of all-steel tires, and its price fluctuations directly determine the cost pressure on enterprises. Since 2026, natural rubber prices have been climbing continuously, reaching 17,530 yuan per ton on May 15th, having previously exceeded 18,000 yuan per ton, a significant increase compared to the beginning of the year, further pushing up tire manufacturing costs.
The rise in natural rubber prices is closely related to the tightening of global supply. Data released by the Malaysian Department of Statistics on May 13th shows that in March 2026, Malaysia's natural rubber exports decreased by 36.9% year-on-year to 33,137 tons, a decrease of 2.2% month-on-month.
As one of the world's major natural rubber exporters, Malaysia's significant reduction in exports has exacerbated the tight supply situation in the global natural rubber market. Furthermore, the global natural rubber producing regions are currently in their seasonal off-season, and the tense situation in the Middle East is disrupting logistics, further pushing up natural rubber prices and making it difficult to alleviate cost pressures for domestic tire companies.
In addition to rising raw material costs, tire exporters also face multiple market pressures. On the one hand, EU anti-dumping and other trade barriers continue to escalate. At the end of April, the European Commission announced the pre-final anti-dumping duty rates for Chinese passenger car and light truck tires, with most domestic companies facing high anti-dumping duties, directly impacting exports to the EU market.
On the other hand, escalating geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East are driving up shipping costs, increasing logistical pressures on tire exports, and affecting export orders for some companies. Meanwhile, more than 80 domestic and foreign tire companies in the industry have recently raised prices, but due to intense competition in the export market, cost pressures are difficult to fully pass on to exported products, further exacerbating the profitability difficulties.
Currently, the "increased volume, decreased value" pattern in the tire export industry is essentially the result of pressure from both the cost side and the market side. Rising raw material prices are pushing up production costs, while intensified overseas competition and tightening trade barriers are making it difficult to raise export prices in tandem. This "scissors gap" is exacerbating the industry's predicament of "increased revenue but not increased profits."
Looking ahead, as the seasonal recovery of natural rubber supply and the gradual emergence of industry price adjustment effects gradually emerge, tire export prices are expected to stabilize, but short-term profit pressures will persist. Companies need to accelerate the optimization of their product structure and expand into diversified markets to alleviate the dual pressures of costs and market conditions.
