Japan Rolled Copper Output Drops to Less Than 1 million tonnes in F2007

Japanese rolled copper output decreased by 4.4% to 998,383 tonnes in fiscal 2007 ended March 2008 from fiscal 2006, which was less than 1 million tonnes for the first time in 5 years, announced by Japan Copper and Brass Association on Monday. The association announced more than 1 million tonnes of preliminary figure last month but revised the figure due to 1,600 tonnes lower copper strip production in March compared with preliminary one. The recent report revealed the copper strip output decreased by 0.6% to 271,194 tonnes in fiscal 2007 from fiscal 2006. The copper tube output decreased by 0.3% to 164,424 tonnes and other sheet and strip output decreased by 0.4% to 9,749 tonnes. Higher copper alloy production rate expanded the gap between preliminary and actual figures for copper strip. The demand for alloy products expands while the productivity gets worse when the demand requires smaller, thinner and higher quality products. The association announced last month the rolled copper output was just more than 1 million tonnes in fiscal 2007, which was 4% lower than fiscal 2006 due to slower demand for construction.