Japan Cemented Carbide Tool Shipment to Grow by 4.3% in F2006

Japanese cemented carbide tool shipment will increase by 4.3% to 315.9 billion yen in fiscal 2006 started April from fiscal 2005, according to report of 42 members by Japan Cemented Carbide Tool Manufacturers’ Association. The shipment will renew record for 4 consecutive years and increases for 10 years in a row. However, the peaked demand is expected to level off in the second half year. The makers expect the order receipt will decrease when they get smaller order since early May. The export will increase by 7.4%.The shipment of cutting tool, which represents 70% of the total value, will increase by 4.7% to 230.8 billion yen in fiscal 2006 from fiscal 2005. The shipment renews the record for 4 years in a row. The demand is expected to keep firm for automotive parts processing including indexable insert, drill and endmill. However, the growth will slow down in the second half.The shipment of sintered diamond and cubic boron nitride (CBN) tool, which is used to cut harder and hard-to-cut materials and for precise cutting, increases by 5.9% to 21.4 billion yen in fiscal 2006 from fiscal 2005. The shipment keeps the high level when the demand keeps firm for automotive parts applications both for CBN tool and diamond tool.The export, which recorded higher growth rate in past 2-3 years than domestic shipment, will increase by 7.4% to 77.3 billion yen in fiscal 2006 from fiscal 2005 when transplants of Japanese carmakers expand the operations in China and USA resulting in higher demand especially for cutting tool.The shipment of wear resistant tool, which is used mainly for metal mold of information technology devices, will increase by 3% to 50.8 billion yen in fiscal 2006 from fiscal 2005. The shipment is still 9% lower than the peak in 1997 though the shipment will increase for 5 years in a row. The cheaper import apparently reduced the shipment both in price and volume.