Recently, Ningxia Kuncheng Tire Co., Ltd. (formerly Shenzhou Tire) officially issued a price adjustment notice, announcing that starting from March 15, 2026, the prices of all brand products will increase by 2%, and a prepayment price lock channel will be opened before March 15. The specific price shall be subject to the official notice of the company.
At the same time, Guizhou Tire Co., Ltd., one of the leading companies in the domestic tire industry, also issued a notice on March 4, 2026, clarifying that it will choose the opportunity to uniformly increase the prices of its entire series of products.
In addition, Linglong Tire also issued a notice on price adjustments for TBR and PCR products. Starting from April 1, 2026, the price of some products of all brands of PCR and TBR in the company’s domestic retail market will be increased by 3% – 5%.
This price adjustment by the three major tire companies is not only a response to their own operations, but also reflects the general dilemma of the domestic tire industry in 2026.
Kuncheng Tire made it clear in the notice that the core reason for this price increase is the continued rise in prices of major raw materials such as natural rubber, which has led to rising production costs.
Coincidentally, Guizhou Tire and Linglong Tire also mentioned in their price increase notices that since 2026, due to the sharp increase in the prices of natural rubber, synthetic rubber, carbon black, nylon cord and related chemical raw materials, coupled with the recent escalation of the situation in the Middle East, the prices of various raw materials have continued to be on an upward trend, resulting in a rigid increase in corporate production costs.
Although Guizhou Tire has tried its best to absorb the cost pressure through internal optimization, it still cannot completely overcome the market impact, and finally decided to increase the price of the entire series of products at an appropriate time.
It is understood that since the beginning of 2026, the price of natural rubber has been rising sharply.
Affected by the traditional cut-off cycle of natural rubber, market supply is in a tight situation, coupled with the gradual recovery of downstream demand, driving the price of natural rubber to continue to rise.
The price increase has further accelerated since February, breaking through the high range of 17,000 yuan per ton in March. On February 24, the price once climbed to more than 18,000 yuan per ton, setting a phased peak. In just over a month, the price of natural rubber has increased by more than 10% year-on-year, and the upward trend has not yet been alleviated.
In addition, the tire industry generally adopts the “receive orders first, produce later” model. Most companies have finalized order prices and signed contracts before or at the beginning of the month. The sudden surge in raw material prices has caused production costs to significantly exceed standards. These additional costs are often difficult to transmit downstream and can only be absorbed by the companies themselves, further compressing profit margins.
The pressure on natural rubber has not yet eased. The skyrocketing international crude oil prices have dealt a fatal blow to the tire industry. One of the core incentives for this surge in oil prices is the continued escalation of geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East.
Since the beginning of 2026, the United States and Israel’s raids on Iran triggered turmoil in the Middle East. Iran immediately announced that it would block the Strait of Hormuz, the “world’s energy chokepoint,” which is responsible for 20% to 30% of the world’s crude oil shipping. The obstruction of its navigation directly triggered a global crude oil supply panic.
It is worth noting that in tire production, key raw materials such as synthetic rubber, carbon black, and additives are all downstream petrochemical products. The rise in oil prices directly drives up the price of such supporting raw materials simultaneously, which means that tire companies need to bear the dual cost squeeze of natural rubber and petroleum-based raw materials.
In addition, labor, transportation, operation and other costs are also rising collectively.
The pressure on logistics and transportation is particularly prominent. In addition to the direct impact of rising oil prices, the turmoil in the Middle East has blocked navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, further pushing up global logistics and transportation costs. Domestic tire companies’ raw material imports and finished product transportation costs have increased simultaneously. Coupled with rigid expenses such as factory rent, water and electricity, environmental protection investment, and management expenses, the operating pressure of tire companies continues to increase.
Looking at the industry as a whole, the tire industry is standing at a crossroads between a rock and a hard place. If prices are not raised, small and medium-sized enterprises may be overwhelmed by cash flow; if prices are raised forcefully, orders and channels may be lost.
In the short term, tire companies will most likely continue the model of carrying costs and making partial tentative price increases. Leading companies will rely on their scale and brand advantages to adjust prices in small increments in batches; small and medium-sized factories can only survive by reducing costs, reducing losses, and clearing inventories.
In the long term, the serious inversion between cost and selling price is unsustainable, and the industry may usher in a round of brutal reshuffle.
The price adjustment of Kuncheng Tire, Guizhou Tire and Linglong Tire is not only an operational adjustment of the three companies themselves, but also a true portrayal of the plight of the tire industry in 2026.
In the future, as cost pressure continues, more tire companies are expected to join the price adjustment bandwagon, and we will continue to pay attention to the dynamics of the tire industry.
