Japanese cemented carbide tool shipment decreased by 0.6% to 22.539 billion yen in January from a year earlier, which decreased for 3 months in a row, according to Japanese Cemented Carbide Tool Manufacturers’ Association. The export apparently decreased for automobile industry in China due to Chinese New Year holidays in late January. The cemented carbide alloy output decreased for the first time since November 2009.
The cutting tool shipment, which represents around 75% of total shipment, was in line with a year earlier level for 3 months in a row through January. The insert chips shipment was more than 25 million units but the year on year increase was less than 10% for 4 months in a row. The cemented carbide tool export in January decreased to less than 6 billion yen for the first time since February 2010 while the export was more than 7 billion yen per month for 5 months in a row through October 2011 even under historical high yen rate. The export apparently decreased due to slower export of insert chip which represents around 75% of total export. The cemented carbide alloy output peaked at less than 500 tonnes per month since November 2011.