The U.S. Department of Transportation issued 22 new DOT plant identification codes in the past year for tire factories worldwide, including nine in China and three in India.
These additions expand the list of tire plant IDs to 1,075, although 85 of these are assigned to factories that are closed/no longer exist and 25 to facilities that don't make tires.
There also are at least 50 to 60 factories worldwide with two or more distinct "original" two-place codes, leaving roughly 900 factories worldwide that are considered "active."
In fact, two of the codes issued in the past year appear to have been issued in error: one for a retread plant in Tennessee and another for a Texas aftermarket truck converter.Among the new codes is one for ACTR Co. Ltd., Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.'s truck tire joint venture near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with China's Sailun Group Co. Ltd., as well as for new plants in India for Apollo Tyres Ltd. and MRF Ltd.
Tire manufacturers wishing to sell tires intended for use on U.S. roadways must have a DOT code for each plant, and that code must be molded into the sidewalls of each such tire, according to DOT regulations.
New codes issued over the past year are:
Tire makers are not required to test the tires, but if the tires are sold in the U.S., they are subject to random testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), with penalties assessed if the tires fail to be in compliance with federal standards.
Some Chinese companies were granted a DOT code for the first time:
• ACTR Co. Ltd. is the Cooper-Sailun joint venture.
• General Rubber (Thailand) Co. Ltd. is the Rayong Province-based subsidiary of China's Jiangsu General Science Technology Co. Ltd., which brought on stream late last year the $300 million car and truck/bus tire plant. JGST is represented in the U.S. by Statewide Tires Inc.
• Guangxi New Guilun Rubber Co. Ltd. — Tire Business could not ascertain any background on this firm.
• Hubei Linglong Tire is part of China's Linglong Tire Group; this particular factory, with capacities for car, truck and OTR tires, is Linglong's fourth plant in China.• Hung Hai Thinh J.S.C. is a Binh Duong, Vietnam-based manufacturer of industrial rubber products that reportedly is building a tire factory that is supposed to go into production in 2020.
• Qingdao Jingtai Rubber Products Co. Ltd. is a Qingdao, Shandong Province, China-based producer of motorcycle tires and tubes under the Superbiz brand.
• Qingdao Tulechi Rubber Co. Ltd., Qingdao, Shandong, China — Tire Business could not ascertain any background on this firm.
• Shandong Habilead Rubber Co. Ltd. is a Dongying City, China-based producer of passenger and truck tires under the Durun and Goldway brands. Shandong Habilead is part of Shandong Huasheng Rubber Group.
• Suntop Tire (Wuxi) Co. Ltd. is a Zhanghua County, China-based producer of inner tubes, motorcycle and industrial tires.
