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.