Japan Cemented Carbide Tool Shipment Settles Down in August

Japanese domestic shipment of cemented carbide tools decreased by 46.9% to 13.9 billion yen in August from a year earlier, according to Japan Cemented Carbide Tool Manufacturers’ Association. The shipment value had represented month-to-month increase for May-July but turned down in August due to summer holidays. The shipment value still stayed 50-60% level compared with a year earlier.

Cutting tools, accounting for about 75% in the total shipment value, represented slightly below 10 billion yen in August though which exceeded 10 billion yen per month for June-July. Shipment volume of insert chips, the main item among cutting tools, recovered by 31% from the bottom in April 2009 while decreased by 10% from July.

Shipment value of sintered diamond and CBN (cubic boron nitride) tools decreased by 9% from the previous month, those which are used to manufacture difficult-to-cut materials such as hardened steels or heat resistant alloys.

Shipment recovery seems slow for wear resistant tools compared with cutting tools. The demand for cemented carbide molds, the main item among wear resistant tools, seems weak due to stagnant investment by manufacturing industry.

Shipment of rock drilling tools settled down in response to slowdown of overseas mineral resource and city development boom.

Demand for cemented carbide tools is gradually recovering, mainly for cutting tools, thanks to output recovery in automobile and electric appliance industries. Some concerns pointed out distributors’ inventory adjustment could complete in September-October.