Japanese Electric Copper Cable Shipment Turns First Y/Y Increase in 16 Months

Japanese domestic shipment of electric wire and cable was quickly estimated at 54,000 tonnes of copper in January, according to a survey on approximately 130 makers those who belong to Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Makers’ Association. The shipment represented the first year-to-year increase in 16 months though the volume was lower by 20% than in January 2008, the same month before Lehman Shock. The actual shipment of optical fiber products in December increased by 29.9% from a year earlier thanks to the strong export.

Copper wire and cable shipment for domestic construction market was quickly estimated at 22,300 tonnes in January, down by 10.3% from a year earlier. The demand maintained low due to stagnant investment for industrial and residential buildings.

Copper wire and cable shipment represented 32.2% year-to-year increase for automobiles while 27.2% year-to-year increase for electric machines and appliances at the quick estimation for January. The main reason is that the shipment for the both fields sharply dropped after Lehman Shock. The shipment volume for these fields has steadily recovered but leveled off since September 2009.

Copper cable shipment for domestic power companies represented 18.7% year-to-year decrease at the actual figure for December and 11.7% year-to-year decrease at the quick estimation for January. The volume seems to have rebounded down from the very high average for September-November at more than 7,000 tonnes per month.

The actual shipment of optical fiber products in December was 2.74 million kilometers of fiber core (kmf). The shipment expanded by 46.6% to 2.15 million kmf for export while decreased by 8.2% to 590,000 kmf compared with a year earlier. The export kept the very high level mainly to China.