Chinese factories are working overtime, while foreign-funded enterprises are closing factories and laying off employees

In the past two years, Chinese tire companies have been advancing by leaps and bounds. Recently, many tire companies have announced that the factory orders for the beginning of 2025 are in short supply. At the same time, the situation of overseas factories is in sharp contrast.

Universal shares are full of orders

Recently, reports show that since the beginning of the year, Universal shares have ushered in a continuous influx of domestic and foreign orders. At present, domestic semi-steel factories have been fully booked for orders in the first quarter, and are in a 100% full-load production state, and products are in short supply.

The overseas market also performed well: in January, the daily output of semi-steel tires at the Thai base exceeded 30,000, and the daily output of the Cambodian base exceeded 20,000, both of which broke historical records, demonstrating the strong production strength of Universal shares. It is worth mentioning that the order volume of the Cambodian base in January exceeded the actual maximum production capacity by 40%. The hot market demand fully confirms the excellent quality and brand influence of Universal shares' products.

In order to meet the strong market demand and ensure the delivery of orders on time, during the Spring Festival, Universal shares' various production bases remained efficient. The roar of the production line continues day and night. Employees stick to their posts and work overtime to rush orders to ensure that the products are delivered to customers with quality and quantity.

Giti Tire fully resumes work and production In the semi-steel tire molding workshop of Giti Tire in Huoshi Town, Xiuyu District, Putian City, Fujian Province, large equipment is roaring, forklifts are shuttling in the workshop, and workers are busy operating next to intelligent machines, a scene of bustling production.

It is understood that Giti Tire has fully resumed work and production on the fifth day of the first lunar month and started the "full speed operation" mode. The person in charge of the company said that the market situation is optimistic this year and Giti Tire is full of confidence in its development prospects. Giti Tire's factory in Xiuyu District is one of its important production bases, mainly producing semi-steel tires, and its products are widely used in passenger cars and light commercial vehicles.

Dongyue Tire has a good start in the new year. On February 5, 2025, the eighth day of the first lunar month, the new Dongyue Group had a good start in the new year. The intelligent production line in its production workshop was running at full speed. 26 large trucks loaded with Dongyue tires were dispatched to all parts of the country, marking the determination of the new Dongyue Group to seize market opportunities and expand the market in the new year.

Jianda Tire signed an order of 3.5 million. Recently, the official platform of Jilin reported that in the production workshop of Jianda (Jilin) ​​Tire Co., Ltd., the production line was running at full capacity, 24 hours a day, and the workers were busy shuttling back and forth, a prosperous production scene.

At present, Jianda Tire has signed 3.5 million orders and the company is running at full capacity. After the Spring Festival, the production capacity of the adjusted shifts will reach 5,000-6,000 per day. It is estimated that 4 million tires can be produced in 2025, with an output value of 700 million yuan.

After talking about the situation of domestic factories, let's take a look at some of the situations of foreign-funded factories.

Goodyear closes plant + layoffs

Foreign media reports show that Goodyear expects to lay off 850 people at its Danville plant as it plans to repurpose truck and bus radial tire plants to produce aircraft tires.

Goodyear expects to basically complete the rationalization plan by the end of 2025 and estimates that the total pre-tax costs associated with the move will be between $130 million and $140 million (125 million to 134 million euros). Goodyear expects these measures to increase operating income in its Americas division by $15 million in 2025 and $65 million per year thereafter.

The Danville plant has been in operation since 1966 and has 2,000 employees. It is Goodyear's only plant in North America that produces aviation tires. Earlier, Goodyear had said it would close its Malaysian plant as part of a cost-cutting strategy, and the closure of the Malaysian plant would result in 550 workers losing their jobs.

Bridgestone closes plant + layoffs

Bridgestone Americas announced in a press release that it will close its truck and bus radial tire plant in Lavergne, Tennessee, and lay off 700 employees there.

In addition, Bridgestone also announced capacity and labor cuts at its agricultural tire plant in Des Moines, Iowa, as well as additional labor cuts in the U.S. corporate, sales and operations departments. In Latin America, Bridgestone plans to reduce the workforce and production capacity in Argentina and Brazil.

Yokohama closes multiple plants In January 2025, Yokohama announced plans to close its Prague plant in the Czech Republic in June 2025. After the plant is closed, production capacity will be transferred to other plants within the group. It is understood that the Yokohama Prague plant produces agricultural tires. The plant has been in operation for more than 90 years and faces many problems such as inefficiency. At the same time, the Yokohama Mahaldai plant will cease operations on December 31, 2024.

Sumitomo to close 100-year-old factory, lay off 1,500 people

Foreign media reports show that Sumitomo, the largest manufacturing plant in Western New York, announced that they are preparing to close, which will eliminate 1,524 union and salaried jobs. The 100-year-old manufacturing plant is expected to be completely closed in February 2025.

Michelin will close several factories in 2025

A few months ago, Michelin announced that it would close two French factories and lay off 1,250 people. Michelin said that competition from cheap truck tires in 2025 forced it to restructure, including three factories in Germany.

Continental Tire Andina SA recently announced operational adjustments to its tire manufacturing plant in Cuenca, Ecuador. According to a statement released by Continental on January 7, starting in January 2025, the work schedule of the Cuenca plant will be significantly reduced, from the original high-intensity production mode of seven days a week to a five-day work week, and weekend production activities will be completely stopped. It is understood that after the implementation of the new work schedule, the income of 750 employees in the Cuenca plant will be reduced by 30%. Recently, there have been reports that Continental will close 4 factories.

Tonyo closes US factory

Tonyo Tire Company announced that they will close their production plant in the United States. This factory closure will affect more than 200 people.