Japan Ti Sponge Export Hits Highest Volume in December

Japanese titanium material export hit the monthly record high in December. The export, most of which seemed to be titanium sponge, was 2,070 tonnes in December and exceeded the record volume marked in September 2010. Inventory adjustment has advanced and the demand has recovered at overseas.

The export recovered above 1,000 tonnes per month in June 2010, the level as high as the peak during 2006-2008. The export jumped to 1,830 tonnes in September and exceeded the previous record of 1,429 tonnes in March 1997. The export kept strong and reached 2,000 tonnes in December. The export to U.S.A. was 1,528 tonnes, 74% of the total volume.

Domestic titanium sponge production was estimated at around 3,500 tonnes per month in December. Titanium sponge makers cannot drop their outputs speedily or less than halve the output volumes against the capacity due to their facility characteristics. Thus Japanese sponge makers’ inventories have increased even under output cuts. These inventories seem to be exported in and after late 2010.

The annual export totaled 14,974 tonnes in 2010, increasing by 46.4% from the previous year. The export strongly increased in the second half year and exceeded 13,570 tonnes in 1997. The export unit price was 908 yen per kilogram, 183 yen lower than the level in the previous year.

Japanese titanium material import was 386 tonnes in December. The import has also shown slight increasing trend since the second half of 2010. However, the volume is about 50% of monthly average at 708 tonnes in 2008, when the import increased from China and Russia.