Japan Cemented Carbide Tool Shipment Drops by 60% in February

Japanese domestic shipment of cemented carbide tools decreased by 59.9% to 12.218 billion yen in February from a year earlier, which represented year-on-year decline for 7 months in a row and decrease widened month by month, according to Japan Cemented Carbide Tool Manufacturers’ Association. The export decreased by 63.8% to 2.736 billion yen from a year earlier, which represented decline for 6 straight months.

The shipment value of cutting tools showed year-to-year decline for 3 straight months through February and was less than 10 billion yen for 2 months in a row. The shipment volume of insert chips fell below 10 million chips. The shipment of sintered diamond and CBN (cubic boron nitride) tools, which are used to manufacture difficult-to-cut materials such as hardened steels and heat resistant alloys, represented decreases for 7 months in a row.

The shipment of wear resistant tools, mainly cemented carbide molds, was impacted by investment slowdown in manufacturing industries and inflows from overseas in February. The shipment of rock drilling tools was relatively steady due to the backlog. However, shipment decreased for 4 months in a row compared with the same month a year ago.