Bridgestone maintains top spot in Global Tire ranking Michelin closes gap;rest of top 10 remains unchanged after flat year

摘要

AKEON-For most of the world's major tire makers,2018 was a flat year saleswise,leading to another year of status quo at the top of the Global Tire Report ranking compiled annually since 1986 by Rubber & Plastics News.That means Japan's Bridgestone Corp.retained the title of world's largest tire maker for the 11th straight year,edging out France's Michelin again.(See rankings on Pages 14-15.) The tables very well could be reversed soon,based on the full-year consolidation of a pair of major acquisitions Michelin carried out in the past year: the $1.45 billion buyout of off-road tire specialist Camoplast Ltd.last year and the more recent $545 takeover of Indonesian tire maker P.T.Multistrada Arah Sarana TBK.Together,the pair represents potential annual sales revenue of nearly $1.2 billion.According to the firms’respective fiscal 2019 half-year earnings results,they're in a virtual tie for the No.1 ranking,based on Michelin's 11 percent sales growth in the period versus a slight drop in Bridge-stone's tire division revenue.