Japan Electric Cable Shipment Recovers in February

Japanese domestic shipment of electric wire and cable increased by 0.4% to 72,100 tonnes in copper in February from a year earlier at domestic 139 electric cable makers which belong to Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Makers’ Association, announced by the Association. The shipment represented year-to-year increase for the first time since October 2006, when the shipment for construction and wholesalers recovered year-to-year plus for the first time since May 2006, the largest demand field of copper wire and cable in volume. Actual domestic shipment of optical fiber products upped by 17.5% to 1.994 million kilometers long of fiber core in January from a year earlier.Copper cable shipment for construction and wholesalers increased by 2.9% to 32,800 tonnes in February from a year ago, which accounts for approximately 45% in total copper cable shipment. The shipment recovered over 30,000 tonnes per month in February despite of less business days from 29,707 tonnes in January. Copper cable shipment was steady for most demand fields in February as well as constructions. However, the export decreased by 36.8% in February from a year earlier and the growth of domestic shipment was canceled. Total shipment growth was slight.Optical fiber product shipment represented year-to-year increase for 21 straight months, while the shipment was less than 2 million kilometers long of fiber core per month in January due to less business days and slower demand. The shipment had exceeded 2 million kilometers long of fiber core per month for 7 months by September 2006. In Japan Fiber-to-the-Home related demand growth seemed to steady down since autumn 2006.