Japan Electric Cable Shipment Stays Low for Construction in June

Japanese domestic shipment of electric wire and cable was quickly estimated at 53,600 tonnes of copper in June, year-to-year minus by 24.9%, announced Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Makers’ Association on Friday. The shipment maintained low for domestic construction market. Meanwhile, the shipment volume continued to represent month-to-month recovery for automobiles and electric appliances. The actual shipment of optical fiber products decreased by 10.5% to 2.59 million kilometers of fiber core in May from a year earlier.

Copper wire and cable shipment for domestic construction market and related wholesalers was estimated at 22,900 tonnes in June, year-to-year minus by 17.8%. The volume shrank from yearly average of 24,000-25,000 tonnes, except for May with less business days. The demand is unlikely to recover in a short term.

Copper wire and cable shipment for automobiles, mainly automotive wiring harness, represented month-to-month increase for 4 straight months and recovered 5,000 tonnes in June after 6 months. The shipment for electric appliances exceeded 10,000 tonnes for the first time in late 5 months. The shipment is increasing thanks to output recovery at car and electric appliance makers.

Optical fiber products shipment represented year-to-year minus again in May, though the shipment reached 3 million kilometers of fiber core after 13 months and showed year-to-year plus after 6 months in April. In May, the shipment decreased by 8.4% to 1.98 million kilometers for export and by 16.7% to 610,000 kilometers for domestic market compared with a year earlier.