The World is Facing a Global Rubber Shortage

The World is Facing a Global Rubber Shortage…

However, do not start hoarding tires yet! But where does this rubber shortage come from?

A tire consists of many components. One of those components, obviously, is rubber. You knew that probably, but what is rubber and why is it such an important part for the fabrication of tires? How will this lead to a global shortage? Allow us to elaborate briefly:

So, tires are (for a large part) made out of rubber. In fact, in tire-manufacturing we use various types of rubber for different parts of the tire. The easiest distinction between different rubber compounds is synthetic and natural rubber. Natural rubber provides high elasticity, excellent friction and heat absorption while synthetic rubber provides rigidity, impermeability (prevents puncture) and traction.

Without natural rubber, it is nearly impossible to create a product that can endure the continuous heavy torment a OTR tire has to cope with. While both types of rubber are equally important for the overall tire performance, the global shortage in rubber has to do with the natural variant.

How is Rubber Produced?

Natural rubber starts as a fluid produced by rubber trees. Rubber trees predominantly grow in warm and humid regions. That is why most of the worlds rubber production is located in Southeast Asia. Because of natural causes such as leaf disease and flooding, rubber-fluid production has been low. In addition, the past years we were not able to plant many rubber trees due to COVID-19 and due to the low rubber prices of recent years. Rubber tappers had little incentive to plant new trees and it takes up to seven years for a rubber tree to mature. This has led to fast declining supplies worldwide, which brings us to an impending shortage. Add to that a higher demand for tires around the world, with a lack of shipping containers, and there comes trouble. Mining companies are desperate for tires, because every hour that one of their machines is idled, due to no available replacements, it represents a major loss of revenue.

What Does This Mean for Magna Tyres?

We promise to deliver what you need, when you need it. In order for us to live up to that promise, we keep our stock levels high, in all our warehouses around the world. However, even our supplies will not be ever-lasting. If you need tires replaced any time soon, we would like to strongly advise you to reach out to your sales representative to make sure you won’t be without.

What can YOU do? The best way to cope with global shortage is to take better care of the tires you have. It is important to choose the right earthmoving tire for your machine. And we summed up some easy tips and tricks to extend tire life and to prevent unnecessary damage to your OTR tires.

Do you want more information what we can do for you? Do not hesitate to contact us!