Leading Tire Makers Pick up the Projects Pace

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Industrial Info is tracking 14 active Manufacturing Industry tire projects in the U.S. with a total investment value of approximately $4.55 billion.

Tire makers around the world have picked up the pace of investments in the past 12 months, committing nearly $10 billion to new projects and more than $2.5 billion to strategic acquisitions. According to the trade publication Tire Business, the past year represents the highest amount of investments and acquisitions ever seen by the publication during a 12-month period.

A little more than $3 billion was budgeted and earmarked for North America acquisitions and capital projects, according to Tire Business. The expansion projects that were announced in the past year amount to more than 33 million units of new annual passenger/light truck tire capacity, and at least 11.5 million units of new truck/bus tire capacity.

Industrial Info is tracking large North American tire plant projects, including:

• Bridgestone Corporation's (Tokyo, Japan) $164 million expansion at its Wilson, North Carolina, plant. The investment through 2018 will increase the facility's passenger tire capacity by 10% to 35,000 units per day.
• Continental Tire the Americas LLC's (Fort Mill, South Carolina) $1.4 billion grassroot truck and bus tire plant in northern Mississippi.
• Sentury Tire Americas' (Miami, Florida) $530 million grassroot plant in LaGrange, Georgia. It will include more than 1 million square feet, with completion slated for 2018.

Goodyear Tire and Rubber (NASDAQ:GT) (Akron, Ohio) will also see major capital projects through 2020 in the U.S. These include modernization projects at its plants in Lawton, Oklahoma, and Fayetteville, North Carolina, which will increase consumer OE 17-inch tire production capacity to 2 million units per year.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.