Japanese Rolled Copper Shipment Drops by 18.6% for F2008

Japanese rolled copper shipment decreased by 18.6% to 812,968 tonnes for fiscal 2008 ended 2009 March from fiscal 2007, which fell below one million tonnes for 2 years in a row, according to Japan Copper and Brass Association. The shipment for the first half was as same as same period last year. However, it plunged during the second half. Particularly, the shipment in January-March 2009 was less than half of the volume in corresponding period last year.

The domestic shipment decreased by 17.0% to 674,115 tonnes for fiscal 2008 from fiscal 2007. The shipment for connector, the largest application of rolled copper, declined by 23.5% to 106,542 tonnes due to lower demand of home electric appliances. The shipment for transportation equipment was 60,933 tonnes, down by 18.9% under the automobile stagnancy. The shipment for semiconductor declined by 26.1% to 39,279 tonnes, which was impacted by weak car electronics demand. The shipment for gas appliance was 40,888 tonnes, down by 13.3% due to the decline of construction starts and enlargement of the time for replacement.

The Export decreased by 25.9% to 138,853 tonnes for fiscal 2008 from fiscal 2007 when the industry activity lowered in Asia.