Archive:Rubber production statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1
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- Data from January 2009. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
This article belongs to a set of statistical articles which analyse the structure, development and characteristics of the various economic activities in the European Union (EU). The present article covers rubber production, corresponding to NACE Rev 1.1 Group 25.1, which is part of the rubber and plastics sector. The activities covered in this article are:
- he manufacture of rubber tyres and tubes;
- the retreading and rebuilding of rubber tyres;
- the manufacture of other rubber products.
_Structural_profile,_EU-27,_2006.PNG)
Main statistical findings
_Structural_profile-_ranking_of_top_five_Member_States_in_terms_of_value_added_and_persons_employed,_2006.PNG)
_Production_of_selected_products,_EU-27,_2007_(1).PNG)
_Expenditure,_productivity_and_profitability,_EU-27,_2006.PNG)
According to the International Rubber Study Group, the EU is self-sufficient in synthetic rubber, producing 2.8 million tonnes of synthetic rubber in 2007 (corresponding to 20.5 % of world production) but consuming 2.6 million tonnes. In contrast, the EU produces no natural rubber but consumed 1.4 million tonnes.
Structural profile
Rubber products manufacturing was the principal activity of a little over 7.7 thousand enterprises throughout the EU-27 in 2006. These enterprises employed an estimated 368.0 thousand persons, about one fifth (21.1 %) of the rubber and plastics manufacturing workforce. The turnover generated by the rubber products manufacturing sector was EUR 64.9 billion in 2006, of which EUR 18.0 billion was value added, which corresponded to a little less than one quarter (23.0 %) of the value added generated by the combined activities of rubber and plastics manufacturing in the EU-27.
The manufacture of other rubber products (NACE Class 25.13), such as tubes, pipes, hoses, seals and other articles of vulcanised rubber, accounted for one half (50.9 %) of the EU-27’s added value within rubber products manufacturing in 2006. The value added created by the rubber tyres and tubes manufacturing subsector (NACE Class 25.11) accounted for most of the remainder (46.4 %), leaving a very small retreading and rebuilding of rubber tyres subsector (NACE Class 25.12).
The rubber products manufacturing sector in Germany was larger than that of any other Member State in terms of the value added generated, contributing one quarter (25.6 %) of the EU-27 total in 2006. A further one fifth (19.3 %) of EU-27 value added generated in this sector came from activities in France. In terms of the relative contribution of the rubber products manufacturing sector to the value added generated in each Member State’s non-financial business economy, by far the most specialised Member State was Luxembourg, where these activities contributed six times the EU-27 average. The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia were also relatively specialised in the manufacture of rubber products, with these activities contributing between two and a half and three times the EU-27 average.
The EU-27 index of production for rubber products manufacturing followed an upward trend during the period between 1997 and 2007, with average growth of 2.4 % per year, despite a contraction in output in 2001. The development of the output for other rubber products followed closely the evolution for the whole of rubber products. In contrast, the production index of rubber tyres and tubes manufacturing was little different in 2007 from the level of 2000, with much slower growth after the relative trough recorded in 2001; over the ten year period through to 2007, output grew by an average 0.2 % per year.
Expenditure and profitability
About one fifth (22.0 %) of tangible investment across all rubber and plastics manufacturing activities in the EU-27 was spent on rubber products manufacturing in 2006. This represented a slightly lower share than the corresponding ratio for value added, resulting in an investment rate for rubber products manufacturing (14.4 %) that was somewhat below the average (15.1 %) for rubber and plastics manufacturing.
The operating cost structure of the EU-27’s rubber manufacturing sector was very similar to that for rubber and plastics manufacturing as a whole, as about one fifth (20.6 %) of operating expenditure was accounted for by personnel costs, leaving the majority spent on purchases of goods and services.
Each person employed in the EU-27’s rubber products manufacturing sector generated an average of EUR 48.9 thousand of value added in 2006, which more than covered average personnel costs of EUR 34.0 thousand per employee. The resulting wage adjusted labour productivity ratio of 143.7 % was very similar to the average for the whole of the rubber and plastics manufacturing sector.
In Denmark, the average value added generated per worker within the rubber products manufacturing sector in 2006 was insufficient to cover average personnel costs (being almost 20 % less). In Denmark, Bulgaria and Lithuania, the wage adjusted labour productivity ratio of the rubber products manufacturing sector was between 70 and 100 percentage points lower than the average for rubber and plastics manufacturing as a whole. In contrast, wage adjusted labour productivity was relatively high in the Czech Republic (60 percentage points above the rubber and plastics manufacturing average).
Data sources and availability
The main part of the analysis in this article is derived from structural business statistics (SBS), including core, business statistics which are disseminated regularly, as well as information compiled on a multi-yearly basis, and the latest results from development projects.
Other data sources include the PRODCOM statistics on the production of manufactured goods.
Context
Recent legislation within this area has focused on environmental issues, with a key development being the adoption of the revised Waste Framework Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council in November 2008. This sets out the basic concepts and definitions related to waste management and lays down waste management principles such as the ‘polluter pays principle’ or the ‘waste hierarchy’. With regard to the rubber and plastics manufacturing sector, the Directive obliges Member States to take measures to promote high quality recycling and, to this end, set up separate collections of waste. By 2020, the recycling of waste materials such as plastics, among others, from households should be increased to a minimum of 50 % by weight. End-of-waste criteria that provide a high level of environmental protection and an environmental and economic benefit should be laid down for tyres.
Following legislation regarding retreaded tyres and bans on shredded tyres in landfill, more recent legislative proposals have focussed on the impact that tyres can have on better fuel efficiency. A proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (COM(2008) 316) regarding type-approval requirements for the general safety of motor vehicles was put forward in May 2008, which in part looks to enhance the environmental performance of vehicles by reducing the amount of road noise and vehicle CO2 emissions from tyres. A complementary proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council (COM(2008) 779) on the labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency and other essential parameters was put forward in November 2008, which could enable consumers to readily identify energy-efficient and better performing tyres.
See also
Further Eurostat information
Publications
- European Business: Facts and figures - 2009 edition
Main tables
Database
Dedicated section
Further information
- Directive 2008/98 of 19 November 2008 on waste
- Proposal COM(2008) 316 final concerning type-approval requirements for the general safety of motor vehicles
- Proposal COM(2008) 779 final on labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency and other essential parameters