SIC 2296 Tire Cord and Fabrics

Contenidos

• NAICS CODE(S).
• FURTHER READING.

SIC 2296

This category covers establishments that produce cord and fabric of manmade fibers, cotton, glass, steel, or other materials used for reinforcing rubber tires, industrial belting, fuel cells, and similar applications. Manufacturers of coated fabrics that are not rubberized are covered under SIC 2295: Coated Fabrics, Not Rubberized. For discussion of weaving systems, refer to SIC 2211: Broadwoven Fabric Mills, Cotton.

NAICS CODE(S)

314992

Tire Cord and Tire Fabric Mills

The U.S. Department of Commerce estimated that 28 U.S. companies produced tire cord and fabrics for the rubber tire industry in the mid-2000s. This industry employed 4,137 people in 2004, including 3,451 production workers. The following year, the industry shipped $1.25 billion worth of goods.

While some tire cord was made with steel in the early 2000s, most tire reinforcement came from such synthetic materials as nylon, polyester, and rayon fiber. Of the 744 million tons of manmade fiber used as tire reinforcement worldwide in the 1990s, 57 percent was nylon, nearly 24 percent was polyester, and approximately 19 percent was rayon. In North America the 165 million tons of manmade fiber used in the 1990s was 55 percent polyester, nearly 43 percent nylon, and nearly 2 percent rayon.

Specifications for tire cord were generally dictated by the type of tire made. The three most common types of tires were radial, bias, and high performance. In the United States, radial tires held about 90 percent of the market in the early 1990s, but high-performance tires were becoming increasingly popular. Production demands for tire cord fabric were directly related to the number of new cars and trucks sold, as well as the need for replacement tires on existing automobiles and trucks. Despite the economic downturn of the early 2000s, sales of high performance tires continued to grow in the United States. As of the mid-2000s, U.S. tread rubber shipments were expected to experience a steady increase of 1.7 percent through 2006, approximating 2005's 1.9 percent growth, according to the Rubber Manufacturers Association's Tread Rubber Market Analysis Committee.

The manufacture of tire cord fabrics involved two general processing steps: twisting and weaving. In the twisting process, two or three ends of the tire cord material are twisted together to form a two- or three-ply yarn. The plied yarn then goes through a second round of twisting called...