Bridgestone 2004 Annual Report Download - page 54

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Bridgestone Annual Report 2004
(c) Overseas sales
Overseas sales by area and percentage of overseas sales over consolidated net sales for the years ended December 31, 2004, 2003 and
2002 are as follows:
Amount Percentage
Thousands of
Millions of yen U.S. dollars %
2004 2003 2002 2004 2004 2003 2002
Areas:
The Americas ¥ 1,007,408 ¥967,544 ¥ 976,863 $ 9,667,095 41.7% 42.0% 43.5%
Europe 329,424 294,900 248,228 3,161,155 13.6 12.8 11.0
Other 363,767 331,419 283,021 3,490,711 15.1 14.4 12.6
Overseas sales ¥1,700,599 ¥1,593,863 ¥1,508,112 $16,318,961 70.4% 69.2% 67.1%
Net sales ¥2,416,685 ¥2,303,917 ¥2,247,769 $ 23,190,529 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Major countries and areas included in each geographic area are as follows:
The Americas: United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, etc.
Europe: Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, etc.
Other: Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, etc.
NOTE 17—VOLUNTARY TIRE RECALL COSTS AND LEGAL LIABILITIES
BSAH and/or certain of its subsidiaries (collectively, “BSA”) are defendants in numerous product liability lawsuits and claims seeking com-
pensatory and, in some cases, punitive damages based on allegations that death, personal injury, property damage and/or other loss resulted
from accidents caused by tire tread separations or other tire failures, and the Company has been named as a defendant in some of those
cases. Many of these cases involve certain Firestone Radial ATX, ATX II, and Wilderness AT tires that either were part of BSA’s voluntary
safety recall that was announced in August 2000 (and completed in August 2001) or were under investigation by the U.S. National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”), which has now closed all investigations of BSA’s products. Many of these cases also name the
Ford Motor Company (“Ford”) as a co-defendant, based on various allegations related to the Ford Explorer (the vehicle involved in many
of the alleged accidents involving tread separations).
In May 2001, Ford unilaterally announced a campaign to replace all Firestone Wilderness AT tires mounted on Ford vehicles. This cam-
paign was completed in March 2002. Since BSA’s August 2000 recall, representatives of BSA and Ford at various levels have been in commu-
nication about a number of different topics, including subjects such as supply, personal injury litigation and the impact of BSA’s recall. In
recent months, the parties have met and continue to meet in an attempt to reach an overall understanding about certain issues related to
these matters, including the resolution of each of BSA’s and Ford’s potential claims against each other related to Ford’s tire replacement
campaign. There are many complex issues involved for both companies, and it is unlikely that all these issues would ultimately be resolved
in favor of either party. The dialogue and BSA’s investigation and analysis of the issues are still at an early stage; however, BSA believes that it
generally has strong defenses to, and significant potential claims and offsets against, Ford’s overall potential claims.
In April 2003, BSA was served with a subpoena issued by a federal grand jury in Illinois which was investigating issues generally arising
from the August 2000 recall and related issues. BSA cooperated in the investigation which was closed by the Department of Justice in May
2004 without any liability incurred by BSA.
Various purported class action lawsuits have also been filed against BSA, generally seeking expansion of the August 2000 recall or relief
for alleged economic losses sustained because of either recalled tires or other tires investigated by the NHTSA, or the manner of the recall’s
implementation, and the Company has been named as a defendant in some of those cases. Many also seek punitive damages or injunctive
relief. In May 2002, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (“Seventh Circuit”) overturned a trial court ruling certifying classes
against BSA, the Company and Ford in the consolidated federal cases and, in January 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear plain-
tiffs’ appeal.
In June 2003, the Seventh Circuit ruled that state courts cannot certify nationwide class action lawsuits where there has been a federal
determination that nationwide certification is inappropriate. Plaintiffs have also filed purported class action lawsuits in several state jurisdic-
tions, and state courts in Illinois and South Carolina have certified state-wide classes against BSA. In July 2003, BSA reached an agreement in
principle with plaintiffs in certain of the class action cases on a settlement that would resolve the outstanding claims in the states class action
cases. The proposed settlement was filed with, and preliminarily approved by, a state court in July 2003. In March 2004, the state court ruled
that the settlement is fair, adequate and reasonable. Various objectors initially opposed the settlement and filed an appeal to have the settle-
ment set aside; however, in March 2005, the objectors filed a motion to dismiss their appeal. BSA and the Company intend to vigorously