Japanese Cu Alloy Product Shipment Keeps Stable in January

Japanese copper alloy fabricators’ actual shipment totaled 68,530 tonnes in January, plus by 51.9% from a year earlier, according to Japan Copper & Brass Association. The shipment represented year-to-year plus for 2 months in a row thanks to the volume recovery for connectors and semiconductor related applications.

The shipment for domestic market increased by 38.8% to 53,522 tonnes.

The shipment for connectors expanded by 2.6 times to 10,960 tonnes due to the active demand for copper strip and brass strip used as connector pins of electric appliances. The shipment for semiconductors increased by 2.6 times to 3,529 tonnes, year-to-year plus for 3 straight months. Copper alloy strip shipment increased as lead frame materials.

The shipment for transporting machines increased by 90.3% to 5,980 tonnes. Copper alloy strip shipment has rapidly increased for automotive connector pins since October 2009. Meanwhile, the shipment for refrigerators decreased by 7.4% to 5,980 tonnes. Copper tube shipment maintained stagnant for constructions and air conditioners.

The shipment for export increased by 2.4 times to 117,758 tonnes. The shipment mainly increased for copper and phosphor bronze sheet and strip adopted to digital appliances.