Europe gets tough on toxin tyres

These oils are defined as toxic if they contain more than three percent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PCAs, and have traditionally been used in tyre manufacture.

New EU rules are expected to ban them completely as early as this year, requiring manufacturers who haven’t already done so to replace them with ‘clean’ alternatives.

When introduced, these guidelines could impact on manufacturers’ ability to supply, so it’s worth checking if your manufacturer of choice has switched to a clean alternative in readiness for the new rules – or you could be left searching for an alternative in a hurry.

Meanwhile in the US, the economic well-being of shipping lines, dockworkers, warehouse owners and logistics companies at the port of Los Angeles is said to be under threat by President Obama’s decision to apply duties to imported Chinese tyres for three years.

Los Angleles is the port of entry for half of the country’s tyre imports, with others, though in much smaller numbers, coming in through Charleston and the Port of Savannah.

China has been the largest importer of tyres into the US since 2006, and, along with Canada and Japan has been the source of up to 60% of imports.