WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued 21 new plant identification codes in the past year for tire factories worldwide, including 10 in China, three in Vietnam and two in Cambodia. Twenty of the 21 new codes were issued to countries in Asia.
These additions expand the list of tire plant IDs to more than 1,160, although over 100 of these are assigned to factories that are closed or no longer exist and 30 or so 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 1,000 factories worldwide that are considered "active."
Of the 21 new codes, all but one are for factories in Asia. The exception is for Nokian Tyres P.L.C.'s factory under construction in Romania. Nokian anticipates having that plant — which was greenlit after the Finnish tire maker decided to cease operations in Russia following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 — ready to begin commercial-scale production in 2025.
That's also the only new DOT code issue for an established "Western" tire manufacturer.
The companies that were issued codes, listed alphabetically, are:
- Dunloop Rubber Sole Co. Ltd., Kaysone, Laos — 073;
- Fujian Shaowu Zhengxing Wuyi Tyre Co. Ltd., Shaowu, Fujian, China — 07L;
- General Tires Technology (Cambodia) Co. Ltd., Sihanoukville, Cambodia —076;
- Hilistone Tyre (Qingdao) Co. Ltd., Qingdao, Shandong, China — 07D;
- Hubei Jintian Tyre Co. Ltd., Xianning, Hubei, China — 07C;
- LuckyLion Foreign Trade Co. Ltd., Chonburi, Thailand — 06X;
- Newbustar (Cambodia) Tire Co. Ltd., Snoul, Kratie, Cambodia — 07B;
- Nivla Tradin, Klang, Selango, Malaysia — 07K;
- Nokian Tyres Europe Operations L.L.C., Oradea, Romania — 07F;
- Qingdao Ludatong Rubbert Products Co. Ltd., Qingdao, Shandong, China — 070;
- Qingdao Shunquanlong Tire Co. Ltd., Qingdao, Shandong, China — 07E;
- Qingdo Wanshishun Special Vehicles Co. Ltd., Qingdao, Shandong, China — 072;
- Quingdao WVK Tire Co. Ltd., Qingdao, Shandong, China — 071;
- Qingdao Xiongxiang Rubber Co. Ltd., Pingdu, Shandong, China — 079;
- Shandong Keystone Rubber Group Co. Ltd., Weifang, Shandong, China —Y;
- Shandong Xingda Tire Co. Ltd., Dongying, Shandong, China — 078;
- Spinnmax Tyres Pvt. Ltd., Chevella, India — 07J;
- Thaistone Rubber Co. Ltd., Siracha, Chonburi, Thailand — 077;
- TM DV Hong Khang Co. Ltd., Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam — 074;
- Vietnam COFO Tires Co. Ltd., Bim Son Town, Than Hoa, Vietnam — 07A; and
- XT Tyre Co. Ltd., Tam Lap, Binh Duong, Vietnam — 07H.
Tire makers seeking to sell their products in the U.S. are not required to test their tires, but tires sold in the U.S. are subject to random testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), with penalties assessed if the tires fail to comply with federal standards.
Tires found not in compliance are subject to recall, and the manufacturer of the noncompliant tires is subject to civil penalties of up to $27,168 per tire — up to a maximum of $135.3 million for any related series of violations, according to agency documents.
In 2015-16, the DOT shifted the process for tire plant IDs to a three-place alpha-numeric code, after determining the two-place system in place up to then would be insufficient to handle expected demand growth. The two-place codes will continue to be valid through 2025.
To simplify the upgrading process for those factories with two-place codes, the DOT in all but a few cases added the numeral "1" in front of the existing code to create the new code. Exceptions to this practice are those codes that include "G," "S" or "Q" due to the potential for misreading an S for a 2 or G and Q for 0, for example.
Of the companies issued new DOT codes in the past year, Tire Business was able to compile some basics about most of them:
Fujian Shaowu Zhengxing Wuyi Tyre Co. Ltd. is a Shaowu, Fujian, China-based producer of bias-ply light and medium truck, agricultural, motorcycle and industrial forklift tires and tubes. It's not known which brand or brands it uses, nor has it commented on any plans to sell tires in North America.
General Tires Technology (Cambodia) Co. Ltd. is the Cambodian subsidiary of China's Jiangsu General Science Technology Co. Ltd. The entity is operating a tire plant that started production in March 2023 and has a rated annual capacity of 5 million passenger tires and 900,000 truck/bus tires. JGST invested $300 million to build the plant.
JGST is represented in North America by Statewide Tires Inc. of West Covina, Calif., which goes to market under the TBB brand.
Hilistone Tyre (Qingdao) Co. Ltd. is a motorcycle tire and tube producer that goes to market under the Kooper Tyre brand. Also known as Qingdao Jintai Rubber Products Co. Ltd.
Hubei Jintian Tyre Co. Ltd. is a Xianning, Hubei, China-based company with capacities for radial and bias-ply truck tires, selling under a variety of brand names, including Baolenda, Fanglutong, Gashun, Jiashun, Jintian, Roaddiamond, Roatiger and Tengjinlong.
Established in 2000 as Hubei Aulice Tyre Co. Ltd., the company moved to a larger factory in 2019 with an annual capacity of 300,000 all-steel radial truck tires.
Newbustar (Cambodia) Tire Co. Ltd. is a subsidiary of China's Qingdao Doublestar Co. Ltd., which is building a $138 million factory in Kratie Province, in southeastern Cambodia.
The new factory, designed with a nameplate capacity of 7 million passenger and 1.5 million truck/bus tires, is a joint venture involving Doublestar and Cambodia's U.B.E. Development Co. Ltd. Production is expected to start by mid-2024.
Qingdao Ludatong Rubber Products Co. Ltd. is a Qingdao, Shandong, China-based producer predominantly of motorcycle and scooter tires and tubes, going to market with the Tutatoo brand name.
Qingdao Shunquanlong Tire Co. Ltd. is a Qingdao, Shandong-based producer of bias-ply light truck, agricultural, industrial and OTR/mining tires under the Xing Ao Chenghua and Shield brands.
Qingdao Wanshishun Special Vehicles Co. Ltd. is a Qingdao-based producer of industrial and motorcycle tires and tubes. Brand names are not known.
Qingdao WVK Tire Co. Ltd. is a Qingdao-based producer of light, medium, specialty trailer and OTR tires, going to market with the VGlory brand name. The firm's web site indicates its products are engineered in the Netherlands.
Qingdao Xiongxiang Rubber Co. Ltd. is a Pingdu, Shandong-based producer of agricultural, industrial and OTR tires and tubes, air springs and other miscellaneous rubber goods. The company claims an annual production capacity of over 2 million units.
Shandong Keystone Rubber Group Co. Ltd. (a.k.a. Shandong Kaixuan Rubber) is a Heze City, Shandong-based producer of light and medium truck and mining tires under the Deemax, Greforce and Lanwood brands.
Shandong Xingda Tire Co. Ltd. is a producer of light and medium truck, agricultural, industrial and OTR tires and tubes, both radial and bias-ply, under the Chanan, Dongfeng, Doublestar, Forland and Sinotruck brands.
TM DV Hong Khong Khang Co. Ltd. is a company affiliated with DaLian Fleming Import & Expor Co. Ltd., distributor of passenger, truck and OTR tires under the Lares and Pathfinder brand names.
Tire Business was unable to come up with any meaningful background on the following: Dunloop Rubber Sole Co. Ltd.; Luckylion Tire Foreign Trade Co. Ltd.; Nivla Trading; Spinnmax Tyres Pvt. Ltd.; Thaistone Rubber Co. Ltd.; Vietnam Cofo Tires Co. Ltd.; or XT Tyre Co. Ltd.
The complete list of DOT codes is available for purchase from the Tire Business Data Store at tirebusiness.com/data.
