Japan Brass Bar Output Hits 32-Month High in March

Japanese brass bar production reached 17,000 tonnes in March for the first time since July 2008, according to monthly statistics announced by Japan Copper and Brass Association on Tuesday. The makers increased the production to meet rebuilding demand for the major earthquake damage while the production decreased temporarily around Tokyo after the quake. The copper strip production decreased due to lower production of automobile and semiconductor.

The total rolled copper output decreased by 3.7% to 73,080 tonnes in March from a year earlier, which kept more than 70,000 tonnes for 2 months in a row. The brass bar output increased by 8.6% to 17,620 tonnes, which recovered the level before Lehman shock.

The brass bar demand is expected to increase under the recovery effort from the earthquake. The demand already started to increase and the dealers also build the inventory preparing for hither demand.

The rolled copper demand is strong for flat products and bar products apparently due to higher demand for plant and transformer station construction. The copper tube production increased by 8% to 11,970 tonnes in March from a year earlier when Japanese air conditioner makers increase the operation toward the demand season.

The strip production decreased for copper, brass and bronze in March from a year earlier. The production decreased by 5.9% to 21,700 tonnes for copper strip and by 20.1% to 8,591 tonnes for brass strip due to lower operation in automobile and semiconductor industry. The flat and strip bronze production decreased to less than 3,000 tonnes for the first time since May 2009.