Manufacturing
Pneumatic tires are manufactured in about 450 tire factories around the world. Over one billion tires are manufactured annually, making the tire industry a major consumer of natural rubber. In 2015 alone, 1.72 billion tires are expected to be sold globally. Tire production starts with bulk raw materials such as rubber, carbon black, and chemicals and produces numerous specialized components that are assembled and cured. Many kinds of rubber are used, the most common being styrene-butadiene copolymer. This article describes the components assembled to make a tire, the various materials used, the manufacturing processes and machinery, and the overall business model.
In 2004, $80 billion of tires were sold worldwide, in 2010 it was $140 billion.
The top five tire manufacturing companies by revenue are Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear, Continental, and Pirelli.
Read more about this topic: Tire