Furukawa Electric to Increase Copper Rolled Products Output in 2H

Furukawa Electric announced on Tuesday the firm planned the output of copper rolled products at average 7,330 tonnes per month for the second half of fiscal 2007 ending March 2008, up by 1% compared with the corresponding period of fiscal 2006. The actual output in 1H of fiscal 2007 was less than originally planned for 3 items that are sheet & strip, bar & wire and plated products. In 2H, the firm expects the demand recovery for these 3 items.The output of copper sheet & strip was less than originally planned 2,450 tonnes in 1H. However, the demand has recovered for connector pins since August and is expected to increase for cellular phones, portable music players and home game machines in 2H, explained Chikamasa Ujihira, president of Furukawa Electric’s metals company.Copper sheet & strip demand is also increasing for semiconductor related applications such as leadframes and discreet circuits. The export is also favorable under the influence of Beijing Olympic. The overseas sale of EFTEC-64T is increasing which is one of the main products used for leadframes.The output of plated copper products was less by 8% than originally planned in 1H due to the slow demand for connector and switch pins. In 2H the demand is expected to recover for connector pins and to maintain active for automobiles.Copper tube production is decreasing for air conditioners after September though the output had represented year-to-year increase by August. Copper bar & wire demand is stable even though the users are minimizing their purchasing volume due to the extremely high copper price.