Japan Electronic Materials Output Rises by 16% in May

Japanese electronic materials output increased by 16% to 40.468 billion yen in May from a year earlier, according to Japan Electronics and Technology Industries Association. The output increased for 17 months in a row due to higher price for the materials of nonferrous metals along with better demand for flat panel display. The metal materials output increased by 73% to 6.09 billion yen in May from a year earlier. The output jumped by 66% for electric tube and integrated circuit and the output increased by 85% for other metallic materials including soft magnet materials, spring material and welding material. The output of permanent magnet increased by 13% to 8.898 billion yen in May from a year earlier. Especially, rare earth magnet output increased by 18% to 7.081 billion yen.