Japanese Makers’ Bond Magnet Production Doubles to 79B Yen in 2010

Japanese makers’ bond magnet production in Japan and at overseas is estimated to have totaled 79.1 billion yen in 2010, double of the previous year, according to the Japan Association of Bonded Magnet Materials. The association estimated the overseas production increased by 2.5 times to 57 billion yen while the domestic production increased by 37% to 22.1 billion yen. The domestic output volume is estimated at 11,200 tonnes, increasing by 31%.

Domestic production of flexible bond magnet is estimated at 2,600 tonnes in volume and at 1.9 billion yen in value, both of which kept the level as high as in 2009. The demand related to office automation equipments returned to the level of 2008 while the demand didn’t recover fully for motors and adsorbing applications. The association pointed out another factor that Chinese makers are recently increasing flexible bond magnet production and Japanese makers are in hard competitions.

Domestic production of rigid bond magnet is estimated at 8,000 tonnes in volume and 10.5 billion yen in value, both of which increased by 25% from 2009 and recovered the level as high as in 2008. The demand was steady for magnet rolls applied to laser beam printers or high grade copy machines. The demand is even strong for motors.

Rare earth bond magnet also returned to the level of 2008 thanks to the demand recovery related to automobiles and motors. The output volume is estimated at 600 tonnes and the output value at 9.7 billion yen, increasing by 67% year-to-year. The offshore output value is estimated to have increased by 2.6 times to 47 billion yen.