Japan Cemented Carbide Tool Shipment Hits First Rise in 3 Years

Japanese cemented carbide tools shipment increased by 50.3% to 271.588 billion yen in 2010 from 2009, which increased for the first time in 3 years, according to Japan Cemented Carbide Tool Manufacturers’ Association. The insert chips shipment hit record 276.57 million units topping 264.486 million chips in 2008. Higher export of the insert chips, which represented slightly more than 70% of total export, lifted the cemented carbide tools export, which increased by 71.4% to 78.8 billion yen thanks to strong demand in emerging countries including China.

The cemented carbide tools shipment renewed the record for 4 straight years through 2007. However, the shipment plunged in second half of 2008 due to Lehman Shock. The shipment was increasing in 2010 after rebound in second half of 2009.

The cutting tool shipment significantly increased in 2010 from 2009. However, the shipment was around 80% of the peak of 2007. The shipment of sintered diamond and cubic boron nitride tools, which are used for difficult-to-cut materials, was around 80% of peak in 2008. The output of cemented carbide alloy was 84% compared with the record of 6,268 tonnes in 2005.