RIDING ON INFRA PUSH
Growth in the construction and material handling equipment market has pushed the prospects of small and medium range OTR tyres. Construction equipment such as backhoe loaders, skid steer loaders and wheel loaders and materials handling equipment such as mobile cranes, port cranes, reach stackers, pallet trucks, telehandlers and aerial work platforms require various sizes and diameters of tyres. Large size tyres are being used in mining applications, for dump trucks, large wheel loaders, and underground mining equipment drive the growth for bigger size OTR tyres in the coming years.<p></p><p> In construction equipment, backhoe loaders are the major demand drivers for tyres. In mining, dump trucks offer major opportunity for OTRs where there is good demand coming in.</p><p>Indian OTR tyre market stood at 9.1 million units in 2017 and forecasted to reach 15 million units by 2023, according to a report by TechSci Research. There has been a noticeable change in the technological upgradations that the Indian industry has adopted. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 9 per cent in volume terms. </p><p>The recently concluded bauma CONEXPO INDIA 2018 was a great platform for the OTR tyre manufacturers such as Apollo Tyres, BKT, CEAT and MRF. According to them, the market expected to grow further this year with the key infrastructure segments on growth path. </p>