The Latin American & Caribbean Tyre and Auto Parts Expo was held July 9-11 at the Panama Convention Center.

PANAMA CITY, Panama — The first thing you notice about the Latin American tire market — at least as part of an exhibiting company attending the annual Latin American & Caribbean Tyre & Auto Parts Expo — is the amount of tire companies.

If you think the U.S. market is saturated with tire companies and tire brands — and most every dealer will argue that it is — one trip around the Panama Convention show floor will convince any U.S. visitor otherwise.

It’s the difference between watching a single salsa dance move to an entire merengue performance — something, by the way, that organizers routinely provide for their customers.

With little or no threat of tariffs or antidumping duties put on tires being sold in Latin countries — other than Mexico, Brazil and Argentina — Chinese tire makers and tire distributors — both those you have heard of and those you haven’t — are looking to gain or establish market share in these countries.

I could fill the space on this page by naming all of the Chinese tire companies you likely have never heard of that exhibited at the Latin American show, but here is just a sampling, from A to Z (location in parentheses):

Alltruth Ltd. (Shandong); Anji Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd. (Jiangsu); Arivo Tyre Co. Ltd.; Asian Tire International Co. Ltd. (Beijing); Blackarrow Tyres (Guangzhou); Chaoyang Long March Tyre Co. Ltd. (Chaoyang); Cronos Tire Co. Ltd.; Dongying Rungold Co. Ltd. (Shandong); Dongying Sincere International Trade Co. Ltd. (Shandong); Exmile (Jiangsu); New Material Technology Co. Ltd. (Shandong); Hanmix (Qingdao) Trading Co. Ltd. (Shandong); Hongtyre Group Co. Ltd. (Shandong); Hubei Jintian Tyre Co. Ltd. (Wuhan); Jiangsu Donghao Rubber Co. Ltd. (Guangdong); Joyway Industrial Co. Ltd. (Shandong); Kinforest Tyre Co. Ltd. (Guangdong); Sauceman Tyre Co. Ltd. (Hefei); Sichuan Tyre & Rubber Co. Ltd. (Sichuan); Sinatyre International Group Co. Ltd. (Shandong); Tianjin Wanda Tyre Group Ltd. (Tianjin); Ultraforce Offroad Tires Co. Ltd.(Shandong); Weifang Guanqi Industrial Co. Ltd. (Weifang); Xingyuan Tire Group (Shandong); Yuanxin Tire Co. Ltd. (Shandong); Zhaoqling Junhong Co. Ltd. (Guangdong); and Zodo Tire Co. Ltd. (Shandong).

I counted nearly 70 tire/rubber tube manufacturers/distributors that exhibited at the Latin American Expo whose company name starts with Qingdao, a city located in the eastern Shandong province of China on the Yellow Sea coast. In addition, nearly 40 other tire/rubber companies were on the exhibition floor whose name started with Shandong.

That means close to 120 tire companies from Qingdao or Shandong alone find the Latin American market attractive.

By comparison, this publication publishes an annual Global Tire Report in which we rank the Top 75 tire makers globally. To consider that nearly double that amount of companies call two areas of China home is mind-boggling, with the understanding that many of these “companies” don’t operate as others do.

Tire companies from other parts of the world also vie for customers by exhibiting in Panama.

Companies who call India home have a strong presence, from some of the bigger manufacturers (MRF Tyres, MRL Tyres, JK Tyres) to smaller players (Asian Tire Factory, Bestpatch Rubber, Braza Tyres, TVS Srichakra).

Other countries represented by exhibitors at the Latin Show include the Netherlands (AT Bandenexport, TS Tyresupply); the United Arab Emerites (TMA International, Vizzoni Auto United); Poland (Kobat Tyre); Malaysia (Isuka Tires Manufacturing); Denmark (NDI Group); Pakistan (Panther Tyres, Servis Tyres); Singapore (Kinto Tyres); South Korea (Daeho Industry); and Turkey (Ozka Tires).

And, of course, many tire manufacturers who are well-known in the U.S. — including Atturo, Double Coin, Linglong, Sailun, Tesche, Triangle and Wanli — had a strong presence at the show.

And it was great not only to see Jason Rook of the Independent Tire Dealers Group there, but also one of its members, Dennis Feldman of Long Beach, Calif.-based Performance Plus Tires. Feldman was there promoting Kontio Tyre, a Nokia, Finland-based manufacturer of classic whitewall products.

Gustavo Lima, Linda Bassitt and the rest of the crew at the Latin American & Caribbean Tyre and Auto Parts Expo do a great job each year to bring together the major players.

The Latin American market is significantly different than that of the U.S., not only in terms of regions within the Latin American region, but also in socio-economic structure.

Be sure to check out Eduardo Minardi’s perspective of the Latin American tire industry elsewhere on our website. Minardi, who formerly led Bridgestone’s operations in Latin America, delivered the keynote address at this year’s Latin American Expo.

The region is key for manufacturers: Eight plants already produce tires there, including the top five tire makers in terms of global sales: Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Continental and Pirelli. And Zhongce Rubber Group Co. Ltd. (ZC Rubber) plans to go online with its plant there by year-end.

The Latin American tire market is a fascinating part of our business. It will be a region to watch for decades to come.