During the Latin Tyre Expo held in Panama this July, the Assembly of the Latin American Association of Tyre Retreaders (ALARNEU) brought together industry leaders from nine countries to present, discuss, and project the future of retreading in the region. Beyond numbers and diagnoses, a common narrative emerged: the urgent need to position this industry as a strategic pillar of sustainability, logistics efficiency, and road safety.
The meeting took place in the Panama Convention Centre. It lasted over two and a half hours—and if it weren’t for the generosity of the Latin Tyre Expo team, participants would have stayed even longer. That collective enthusiasm reflected the institutional maturity and regional commitment ALARNEU is experiencing.
The event was hybrid in format, with in-person presentations delivered by representatives from Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica, while Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Uruguay joined online. This dynamic enabled the integration of diverse perspectives and reaffirmed the continental character of the alliance.
Chile: Industry Leadership Amidst a Challenging Landscape
ARNEC, represented by President Eduardo Acosta, described a decade-long journey, from its founding in 2012 in response to the sector’s lack of representation, to its consolidation as a key influencer in pivotal regulatory processes. Acosta reviewed milestones, including Chile’s National Retreading Standard, a Clean Production Agreement (2014–2019), and ARNEC’s significant role in the REP Law, which recognised retreading as an environmental recovery action rather than mere recycling.
In 2025, ARNEC, alongside CINC and HuellaChile, achieved official validation of the carbon footprint of retreaded tyres, enabling technical comparison with new tyres. This milestone was presented as a turning point to showcase retreading as a concrete solution to the growing pressure from the Asian market, which now supplies 92% of new truck and bus tyres.
Chile maintains a retreading rate of around 20%, with an estimated annual production of 350,000 units. According to Acosta, the challenge lies in strengthening the technical and environmental narrative, further professionalising services, and positioning retreading as the logical option within a truly circular economy—countering the “initial cost” discourse that favours short-lived imported tyres.
Mexico: Idle Capacity and Commercial Urgency
Juan Carlos Hernández, Commercial Manager at Hules Banda, outlined the structural challenges of the Mexican market, marked by a critical paradox: more than 5 million truck and LT tyres with retread potential, but only 960,000 units processed annually—just 18%.
Plants operate with 70% idle capacity, revealing not just a technical gap but a commercial strategy void and weak fleet relationships. Hernández emphasised the need to refocus on professional technical sales, clearly differentiating the cost-per-kilometre value from the purchase price.
He also highlighted priorities such as rebuilding sales forces, training transport operators, strengthening ties with maintenance workshops, and demanding pro-retreading public policies—including state purchases, tax incentives, and minimum standards for casings and processes. “Asian tyres will not disappear,” he noted, “so the sector must learn to leverage the high volume of casings as a recoverable technical input.”
Colombia: Robust Regulation Under Pressure
Representing Colombia, Fernando Florez, President of ANRE, showcased one of the most advanced regulatory frameworks in the region, with rules such as Resolution 0481 and NTC 5384, requiring ONAC certification, speed and resistance tests, labelling, and user manuals. Yet, operational reality is challenging; production dropped 13.2% in 2024, casing rejection rates reached 20.1%, and retreading is barely included in public policies.
Florez emphasised the urgent need for incentives to help heavy cargo and public transport fleets adopt retreaded tyres under traceability and warranty conditions. With over 4.1 million commercial heavy tyres in circulation and more than 800,000 retreads produced annually, Colombia has critical mass—but risks deterioration if the ecosystem is not restructured.
Finally, ANRE warned that although the Ministry of Transport is considering adopting UN R109 standards, the domestic industry faces unfair competition from informality and artificially low-priced imports. A public–private alliance is therefore crucial to safeguard technical standards.
Ecuador: Regressive Taxation and a Shrinking Sector
Santiago Avellán, representing ANRE Ecuador, described a deteriorating scenario. Ecuador’s formal retreading sector has been steadily declining due to three key factors: the elimination of a 5% ISD tax benefit on inputs, a shrinking price differential with new Asian tyres, and the growth of an informal sector operating outside regulations.
With a retreading rate of nearly 10%, Ecuador faces significant competitiveness losses compared to past years. Public policy neglect, lack of awareness campaigns, and consumer perceptions of product insecurity further aggravate the issue.
Proposed solutions included restoring tax incentives, curbing informality, fostering public–private partnerships, and launching technical and environmental education campaigns to reposition retreading as a useful and sustainable tool.
Brazil: The Continental Retreading Powerhouse
Milton Facio, Director of ABR (Brazilian Retread Association), attended the conference online and portrayed Brazil as the continental benchmark in volume, impact, and technical governance. With over 13 million retreads annually and a 65% retreading rate, fleets naturally consider retreading part of tyre lifecycle management.
Key figures included: 26 million tons of CO₂ avoided over 10 years, and over R$6.4 billion in annual savings for transportation. Moreover, 58% of cargo and 80% of public transport in Brazil run on retreaded tyres.
However, Facio warned of legislative threats, such as Bill 3569/2024, seeking to restrict retreading. He called for unified technical and institutional defence, involving retreaders, new tyre manufacturers, and service providers. “Brazilian retreading cannot be understood without its guild, its data, and its public policy,” he concluded.
Argentina: Hierarchy as a Guild Strategy
The representative for Argentina, Carlos Gustavo Huete, President of ARAN (Argentine Tyre Reconstruction Association), expressed concern over Argentina’s declining volumes—down 30–35% annually—and South America’s lowest average reconstruction price (USD 90). This is not due to technical quality, but rather to unfair competition, informality, weak enforcement, and price wars that are detached from cost realities.
ARAN’s response includes plant certification, promotion of an independent testing lab, partnerships with transport chambers and suppliers, and building a national network of quality-committed companies.
Huete also advocated strengthening ALARNEU through social membership fees, a regional bylaw, and more active engagement with multilateral bodies. “It’s not about surviving with low prices, but about elevating the activity and ensuring road safety,” he said.
Costa Rica: Strengthening Traceability and Institutional Frameworks for Fair Competition
Representing Costa Rica, Elsie Álvarez, Executive Director of ACOLLRE, focused on Costa Rica’s efforts to consolidate a sustainable tyre industry based on two pillars: robust traceability and effective institutional frameworks.
With a vehicle fleet exceeding 3 million units and 18 consecutive years of growth, Costa Rica also stands out for emerging electromobility: 10% of vehicles are electric. This openness to innovation requires new regulatory and technological adaptations across the value chain.
Álvarez warned that 19.4% of imported tyres enter the market below the minimum reference prices, threatening technical standards and sector sustainability. ACOLLRE is actively promoting stricter regulations and customs oversight to advance fair competition.
“Traceability is not just a technical tool; it’s a way to organise the market and protect responsible players,” Álvarez stressed, while highlighting retreading as a rational technical, environmental, and economic choice in an age of overconsumption.
Peru: Thermography and Digital Control
Peru’s representative at the conference, attending online, was Rory Quijada, Director of Services, Neuma Peru. Quijada showcased Neuma Peru’s NTCWEB3T system, combining infrared thermography, digital traceability, and automatic email alerts. This unique platform in the region professionalises retreading, guarantees quality, and delivers technical evidence to end clients. The Peruvian case was recognised as a replicable model to raise standards and attract large fleets.
Uruguay: From Informality to Digital Control
Andrés Stabile, the Representative of CURN (Uruguayan Tyre Reconstruction Chamber), attending online, illustrated a two-decade transformation from informality and technological dependence in the 2000s to a more professionalised, regulated model. The turning point came in 2021 with Decree 358/2021, establishing a National EPR System for End-of-Life Tyres that recognises retreading as a valid recovery method.
Despite a 497% surge in Asian imports since 2011, retread use rose 51%, driven by forestry, agriculture, and logistics fleets prioritising cost-per-kilometre. With a retreading rate near 17%, CURN advances three strategic lines:
- Specific tax incentives for certified retread use.
- Mandatory digital traceability ensures the validation of origin, process, and condition.
- Inclusion of retreads in public tenders, especially for state transport and urban services.
Stabile underscored the need to educate professional clients on the long-term value of retreading. “The road is slow but steady. Technology, quality, and education are our most powerful tools,” he stated.
The Validation of a Regional Community
Conclusions from the conference were drawn by Alarneu Coordinator, Daniel Rojas Enos:
“What we experienced in Panama was more than a technical session. It was the validation of a regional community that, despite its differences, shares a common cause: to defend and promote retreading as an economic, environmental, and strategic tool. From ALARNEU, we will continue building and professionalising this space, convinced that the future of sustainable mobility in Latin America is also built on renewed tyres”, he said.
The ALARNEU Assembly reaffirmed the need to consolidate a Latin American strategy to defend and promote retreading as a sustainable solution for economic benefits and road safety. Key takeaways included: Public education on retreading benefits, technical certification and traceability as pillars of trust, effective control of the informal market, the inclusion of retreading in public policies and tax benefits, the generation of regional statistics for political advocacy, stronger guild cooperation across countries, and the adoption of technologies such as digital thermography to raise standards and capture major fleets.
