Guayule has a history in the U.S. as an alternate source of rubber. During World War II, shipping routes were cut off between Southeast Asia, where close to 100 percent of the world’s rubber supply is sourced. Being dependent on foreign countries for this important industrial material, the U.S. federal government rationed rubber and planted guayule fields to create a secure domestic source. However, after the war, trade with Southeast Asia resumed and the fields were destroyed.
Once again, global shortages of natural rubber are predicted due to the booming economies of China and India and the limited supply of the traditional source of natural rubber — the rubber tree plantations of Southeast Asia.
The U.S. still imports 100 percent of its natural rubber and rubber products with no source for rubber at all in the Western hemisphere, despite the fact that rubber and latex are essential industrial materials. For example, a commercial or military jet airplane requires 90 to 100% natural rubber content in its tires because only natural rubber has the elasticity and heat dispersion ability needed to decompress from high altitudes in a short amount of time and survive the friction generated by landing.
In addition, during the past several years, anecdotal evidence of rumored leaf blight outbreaks in India and Thailand have spread. Since the same fungal disease wiped out the Brazilian rubber industry a century ago, it’s possible that this same pestilence could permanently destroy the world’s remaining supply of natural rubber and latex for a second time. [See Fortune article.]
Further, rubber is a designated Critical Strategic Material for the U.S. (it’s the second largest raw material import next to oil), but no stockpile exits. If the supply of rubber were to become suddenly unavailable, the U.S. would have no back up.
Natural rubber is a material that is critical to the economy because, despite advances with petroleum-based substitutes going back to 1944, there is no synthetic or natural substitute that is its equal in quality or performance.
Yulex Corporation has developed a U.S. source of natural rubber to ease the country’s dependence on imports for this pervasive industrial material.
