Japan Electric Wire Shipment Rises by 8.2% in January-June

Japanese electric wire shipment increases by 8.2% to 330,977 tonnes in copper volume in January-June from same period of 2009, according to report on around 130 members of Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Makers’ Association released on Friday. The demand increased for wiring harness, electric wire and other products in automobile and appliances while the demand decreased for construction applications. The volume was still around 80% of January-June 2008 level.

The shipment increased by 43.1% to 37,189 tonnes for automobile industry in January-June from same period of 2009. The volume was 23.1% lower than January-June 2008. The shipment for electric machine was 86,515 tonnes, which was 46.7% higher than January-June 2009 and 15.4% lower than January-June 2008 level.

The shipment for construction industry decreased by 8.7% to 128,272 tonnes in January-June from same period of 2009. The volume was 25% lower than January-June 2008 level. The shipment decreased by 5.8% to 33,348 tonnes for power industry in January-June from same period of 2009. The volume was 12.5% lower than January-June 2008 level.

The export shipment decreased by 1.7% to 11,975 tonnes in January-June from same period of 2009. The volume was 40.7% lower than January-June 2008 level.

The shipment increased by 5% to 56,100 tonnes in June from a year earlier. The volume was third low as June in past 35 years. The shipment increased for 7 months in a row to automobile and electric machine while the shipment for construction decreased for 21 months in a row.

Japanese optical fiber shipment increased by 7.5% to 2.786 million kilometers core in May from a year earlier. The shipment decreased by 12.2% to 534,781 km core for domestic market while the export increased by 13.5% to 2.251 million km core.