Japan Electric Cable Shipment Decreases Slightly in May

Japanese domestic shipment of electric wire and cable was 65,100 tonnes of copper in May, according to the quick estimation by Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Makers’ Association. The shipment decreased by 1% from a year earlier and represented the year-on-year down for 3 months in a row. The actual shipment of optical fiber products increased by 26.8% to 2.81 million kilometers of fiber core in April from a year earlier.Copper cable shipment for automobiles, including auto wiring harnesses, showed year-on-year increase for 9 straight months. Completed car production for export had kept active in Japan since autumn 2007. Copper cable export had exceeded 3,000 tonnes per month since March 2008 due to the large-lot shipment of high voltage power cables mainly for the Mideast.Copper cable shipment for domestic construction market represented year-on-year decline for 9 months in a row. The demand maintained slow from wholesalers due to stagnant new housing starts in Japan. As to large construction projects, the cable shipment for ultra large plants around Osaka is delayed by 2-3 months from originally planned.The shipment of optical fiber products increased by 1.4 times to 2.15 million kilometers of fiber core in April from a year earlier. The export exceeded 2 million kilometers core for 3 months in a row. The shipment for domestic market decreased by 3.3% in April from a year ago, which represented year-on-year increase in March for the first time in the previous 15 months.