Japan Copper Electric Wire Demand to Rise by 1.9% in F2007

Japanese copper electric wire shipment will increase by 1.9% to 890,000 tonnes in copper weight in fiscal 2007 ending March 2008 from fiscal 2006, according to estimate for 138 members by Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Makers’ Association on Thursday. The shipment increases for 5 years in a row due to firm capital expenditure and automobile output in Japan. Optical cable demand will increase by 1.9% to 10.835 kilometers core. The copper electric wire shipment will increase by 1.7% to 394,000 tonnes in copper for construction applications in fiscal 2007 from fiscal 2006. The shipment for automobile will increase by 3.5% to 92,000 tonnes, renewing the record for 2 years in a row. The shipment will increase by 2.5% to 50,000 tonnes for heavy electric machinery, by 2.7% to 45,000 tonnes for electronics and communications while the shipment for hope appliances will decrease by 3.1% to 25,000 tonnes.The optical cable demand increases in fiscal 2007 when Nippon Telegraph and Telephone group and cell phone providers keep aggressive capital expenditure.