Flat Japan Steel Wire Rope Shipment in 2006

Japanese domestic shipment of steel wire rope was flat at 71,089 tonnes in 2006 as 2005, according to Japan Steel Wire Rope Manufacturers Association. The import rate for domestic market decreased by 0.9 percentage points to 27.5%, which decreased for the first time in 7 years. The domestic shipment decreased by 0.04% in 2006 from 2005, which represented decreases for 10 years in a row. The import decreased by 4.7% to 26,933 tonnes, which decreased for the first time in 7 years. The total supply including domestic shipment and import decreased by 1.4% to 98,022 tonnes, which decreased for the first time in 4 years. Domestic wire rope market keeps shrinking due to reduced civil works and major projects. The import increased the share in the market every year. The import represented more than 20% since 2003 and hit 28.4% in 2005, which was the highest level in the statistics. The domestic shipment was flat in 2006 as 2005 due to higher demand for construction and industrial machinery despite of lower demand for construction and civil works. The import decreased and import rate decreased with lower import from South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand though the import from China increased. The order from civil works represented 29.7% in the market in 2006, which decreased by 1 point from 2005. The order from machinery increased by 0.9 points to 25.4%. The share gap between machinery and civil works narrowed under firm demand for machinery.