Japan Copper Electric Wire Shipment to Increase by 3% in F2006

Japanese shipment of copper electric wire and cable will increase by 3% to 891,000 tonnes in copper volume for market in fiscal 2006 starting April 2006 compared with fiscal 2005, representing increases for 4 consecutive years, announced by Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Makers’ Association on Thursday. The shipment will hit record for construction applications, which are mainly for building and plants, and automobile, which is mainly for wiring harness. The domestic demand of optical cable will increase by 6.9% to 9.365 million kilometers in fiber length.The association estimates the shipment of copper wire and cable will increase by 4.7% to 865,400 tonnes in copper volume for fiscal 2005 from fiscal 2004. The export is 34,000 tonnes and the domestic shipment is 831,400 tonnes, which reaches 800,000 tonnes for the first time in 5 years. The shipment for construction applications, which represents 45% of total shipment, surges under major expansions by Japanese automakers and appliances makers. The demand for power supply increases for the first time in 12 years due to renewal demand by power suppliers. The association expects the demand keeps firm for fiscal 2006. The association estimates the volume reaches 400,000 tonnes for construction applications for the first time since fiscal 1990 and the demand hits record of 87,000 tonnes for automobile due to more automobile output and electronics components per unit. The demand for power supply also increases for 2 years in a row. The copper wire and cable shipment is 856,000 tonnes for domestic market and 35,000 tonnes for fiscal 2006. The association expects the shipment for electric machinery will increase due to better activity in automobile and heavy electrical machinery for fiscal 2006 from fiscal 2005 though the demand decreases slightly in 2005 from fiscal 2004. The export demand also keeps firm for Asia, USA and Middle East in fiscal 2006 as fiscal 2005 though Japanese electric wire makers expand offshore operations and offshore makers increase the presence. The wire and cable shipment is low for communication applications in fiscal 2006 due to shit from metal cable to optical fiber. The association expects Japanese optical fiber shipment will increase by 17.7% to 8.76 million km in fiber for fiscal 2005 from fiscal 2004, which is first increase in 4 years. The shipment for household will increase by 23.2% to 7.095 million km with more subscribers for household optical fiber network.