Japan Electric Cable Shipment to Keep Flat at 660,000T in F2010

Japanese electric wire and cable makers’ domestic shipment is forecasted at 661,000 tonnes of copper for fiscal 2010 starting in April, slightly increasing by 0.1% from the estimated shipment of fiscal 2009, announced by Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Makers’ Association on Thursday. The annual shipment would represent below 700,000 tonnes for 2 years in a row due to the minus growth of building wire shipment. Domestic shipment of optical fiber cable is forecasted to decrease by 4.8% to 7.505 million kilometers of fiber core (kmf) in fiscal 2010 from the estimated shipment of fiscal 2009.

Copper wire and cable shipment for constructions and related wholesalers is forecasted to decrease by 1.7% to 269,000 tonnes in fiscal 2010 from the estimation of fiscal 2009. This demand field accounts for about 40% of the total shipment volume. Domestic construction market totally maintains stagnant and civil engineering is decreasing. The demand for building wire shows no sign of recovery yet.

Copper wire and cable shipment for electric machines and appliances is forecasted to increase by 2.5% to 154,000 tonnes. The shipment is expected to recover for digital appliances, automotive appliances and heavy electric machineries while decrease for home appliances due to the trend to transfer the production sites to overseas. The shipment for automobiles such as automotive wiring harness is forecasted to increase by 1.6% to 72,000 tonnes in response to the car production increase in Japan.

Copper wire and cable shipment for domestic power companies would keep flat at 72,000 tonnes in fiscal 2010. The power companies are likely to continue stable investment to renew or grade up their infrastructures. Copper wire and cable export such as high-voltage power cables is expected to increase by 1.6% in fiscal 2010 due to the makers’ order backlogs.

Optical fiber cable shipment for domestic market would represent decrease for 4 straight years. Japanese telecom companies are inactive to expand their infrastructures when new subscribers for Fiber-to-the-Home services are leveling off.