Japan Cu Electric Wire Shipment Drops by 7.9% in October

Japanese copper electric wire makers’ shipment decreased by 7.9% to 71,600 tonnes in copper weight in October from a year earlier, according to research for around 130 members of Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Makers’ Association. The shipment for automobile industry showed double-digit decrease while the demand was firm earlier the year. The optical fiber products shipment increased by 16.2% to 2.836 million kilometers core in length of optical fiber in September from a year earlier.

The electric wire shipment decreased by 9.5% to 31,400 tonnes for construction and wholesaler in October from a year earlier while monthly average shipment for April-September of 2008 was 28,500 tonnes and became below 30,000 tonnes in first half of fiscal ending March for the fist time since fiscal ending March 2004. Major electric wire maker source estimates the shipment in November would not recover.

The electric wire shipment for automobile relative decreased by 10.6% to 7,700 tonnes in October year-to-year comparison, which showed first drop in 14 months. Japan domestic automobile production decreased by 6.8% in October from a year earlier, according to Japan Automobile Manufactures Association and wire harness shipment also seemed to decrease. The electric wire shipment could keep decreasing for automobile due to worldwide lower automobile sales.

The shipment decreased by 6.4% to 16,600 tonnes for electric machine in October year-to-year comparison, which represented decreases for 6 months in a row. The shipment decreases gradually due to shift of home appliances production to overseas. The shipment could decrease more when the demand for in-car machine weakens.