U.S. rubber imports fall due to attacks

U.S. rubber imports fall due to attacks

Dow Jones, Singapore

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. could account for the plunge in U.S. imports of technically specified rubber 20 grade in September from the previous month, a senior Indonesian rubber official said Wednesday.

According to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau Tuesday, TSR20 imports fell 47 percent to 35,484,372 kilograms in September from August.

"It's a very big drop. It's surprising since in August and September, tire factories in Western countries would have started full capacity production after the long summer break," Suharto Honggokusumo, executive director of the Rubber Association of Indonesia, told Dow Jones Newswires.

The drop could be due to the terrorist attacks which left U.S. companies concerned about possible economic fallout, he said.

"Because of the scare, tire manufacturers could have been waiting to see if the domestic situation would improve," he said.

However, Suharto said the figure for October U.S. TSR20 imports "may improve as the situation is already stable" after the attacks.

Two months ago, hijacked planes destroyed the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon in Arlington. Va., killing thousands.

Although rubber traders and producers in Asia have said there weren't any known cases of shipment delays due to the attacks, Suharto said some rubber shipments to the U.S. could have been put off.

Indonesia is the biggest seller of natural rubber to the U.S. According to the Census Bureau, 29,593,832 kg, or 83.4 percent, of the total U.S. TSR20 imports in September came from Indonesia.