Japan Domestic Shipment of Copper Electric Wire Increases in January

Japanese domestic shipment of copper electric wire and cable is estimated to increase by 5.9% to 68,200 tonnes of copper in January from a year ago, increasing for 10 consecutive months, announced the Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers’ Association on Monday. The shipment of copper electric wire and cable increased by 6.1% to 73,663 tonnes in December 2005 from a year ago. That of optical products increased by 24.9% to 1,549,840 kilometers core in December 2005.The shipment of copper electric wire and cable is estimated to increase by 5.5% to 30,900 tonnes for construction and wholesalers in January from a year ago. The shipment for construction and wholesalers represents 45% of the whole shipment and the shipment increased for 10 straight months since April 2005. The shipment is estimated to increase by 14.1% to 6,000 tonnes for electric power companies in January from a year ago, which increased for 8 consecutive months. The shipment for these 2 fields maintained active since spring 2005 and contributed to the total shipment increase in 2005. The shipment could keep the firm tone this year.The copper electric wire shipment is also firm for automobiles, estimated to increase by 4.6% to 6,500 tonnes in January from a year ago and increasing for 5 consecutive months. On the other hand, the shipment for electric machines and appliances is not as firm as in 2004 when the demand was strong for digital home appliances. The shipment is estimated to increase by 1.4% to 16,300 tonnes in January from a year ago.The shipment of optical products increased for 8 consecutive months. The shipment maintains the recovering trend thanks to the strong demand for Fiber-to-the-Home, the fiber optics network for home.