Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Shipment Decreases in September

Japanese domestic shipment of electric wire and cable was quickly estimated at 59,500 tonnes of copper in September, decreasing by 1.6% from a year earlier, according to preliminary survey on around 130 members of Japan Electric Wire & Cable Makers’ Association, announced by the Association on Thursday. The shipment volume would represent the secondly lowest as September after 57,984 tonnes in September 2009. Meanwhile, the volume has steadily recovered from the recent bottom 49,691 tonnes in May.

The shipment for domestic construction market and related wholesalers was 22,000-23,000 tonnes per month in June and July while the shipment exceeded 23,000 tonnes in August and is estimated to reach 24,000 tonnes in September. The demand seems to be recovering to the level as high as pre-earthquake.

The shipment for automobiles, mainly automotive wiring harness, represented first year-on-year increase for 11 months in August and is expected to keep year-on-year increase in September. If the actual shipment reaches 6,900 tonnes in September, the volume would be the highest since November 2008.

The shipment for domestic power companies is estimated to reach 6,000 tonnes for the first time in 8 months in September but the demand level maintains totally weak since the Japan Earthquake. The shipment for electric machines and appliances currently levels off at around 14,000 tonnes per month.

As for optical fiber products, the actual shipment in August was 3.21 million kilometers of fiber core (kmf), increasing by 19.4% from a year earlier. The shipment exceeded 3 million kmf and represented year-on-year increase for 2 months in a row. The shipment for export expanded by 31.5% to 2.66 million kmf, which exceeded 2 million kmf for 3 straight months and showed year-on-year increase for 2 months in a row.