The development of China's tire industry is very rapid, with domestic tire production accounting for 38% of the global total in 2015, making it the world's largest tire producing and exporting country. From 2009 to 2014, the compound annual growth rate of rubber tire outer tubes and radial tire outer tubes in China was 11.2% and 16.2%, respectively, and the radial rate of tires continued to increase. In 2016, the production of domestic tire outer tubes slightly increased, but benefited from the increase in tire radial rate, the production of radial tire outer tubes increased by 13% compared to 2015.
The insoluble sulfur produced by manufacturers is mainly used in the production of radial tires, and can also be used in rubber products such as cables, rubber rollers, oil seals, and rubber shoes. With the increasing demand for high-performance cars, radial tires have become a trend to replace ordinary diagonal tires, and the demand for radial tires for automobiles is also increasing day by day.
According to data statistics, the production of rubber tires in China exceeded 1.1 billion in 2014, but after falling back to 900 million in 2015, the annual production of rubber tires remained fluctuating between 900 million and 1 billion. In 2016, the production of rubber tire outer tubes in China was 94.97405 million, a year-on-year increase of 2.31%. By 2017, there had been a slight decrease, reaching 9.26175 million tubes.
In 2016, the production of radial tire outer tubes in China was 63.51179 million, a year-on-year increase of 132%. In 2017, the year-on-year increase was 5.65%, reaching 671.0074 million. With the overall development of China's tire industry and the continuous improvement of radial rate, the market prospects for high-performance insoluble sulfur are broad.