Bridgestone Corp., the world's largest tire maker, will postpone the start of production at a new tire plant in Thailand because global demand for coal-mining vehicles is less than expected.
The company will announce a new output start date "when demand comes back," Chief Executive Officer Masaaki Tsuya said in an interview Monday.
Bridgestone is adding production capacity for construction and mining vehicle tires, known as off-road, because they have a higher profit margin than car tires, Tsuya said. The company still expects net income to surge 41 percent this fiscal year to a record ¥285 billion ($2.8 billion) as rubber prices near a five-year low hold down costs.