Japan Electric Wire and Cable Shipment Up for Construction, Down for Car in April

Japanese domestic shipment of electric wire and cable was quickly estimated at 55,400 tonnes of copper in April, year-to-year minus by 1.4%, according to a survey on approximately 130 makers those who belong to Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Makers’ Association. The shipment for domestic construction market would hit the highest volume since December 2008 while the shipment for automobiles would drop to the lowest level since January 1984, both affected by Japan Earthquake.

The shipment for domestic construction market and related wholesalers, mainly building wires and cables, is estimated to have increased by 22.2% to 26,900 tonnes in April from a year earlier. The shipment sharply increased after Japan Earthquake for restoration and speculative demand. On the contrary, the shipment for automobiles, mainly automotive wiring harness, would drop by 51.2% to 3,000 tonnes in April year-on-year. The demand remarkably decreased along car makers’ operative down after the disaster.

As for optical fiber products, the actual shipment in March totaled 2.497 million kilometers of fiber length (kmf), 23.3% year-on-year minus. The export decreased by 34.4% to 1.657 million kmf while the shipment for domestic market increased by 15.7% to 840,000 kmf.