Japanese Copper Cable Market at 70-80% of Pre Lehman Shock

Japanese domestic shipment of electric wire and cable was quickly estimated at 55,300 tonnes of copper in February, according to a survey on approximately 130 makers those who belong to Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Makers’ Association. The shipment reprsented year-to-year plus by 12.1% since the demand was at the bottom level a year earlier after Lehman Shock. The demand has recovered steadily for automobiles and electric appliances. However, the total copper volume is still lower by 24.5% than in February 2008. Domestic metal cable market has shrunk.

The actual shipment of optical fiber products jumped by 65.9% to 2.61 million kilometers of fiber core (kmf) in January from a year earlier.

Copper cable and wire shipment has leveled off for automobiles and electric appliances since autumn 2009. Compared with February 2008, the quickly estimated shipment volume in February 2010 represented 25.9% lower for automobiles and 18.7% lower for electric machines and appliances. The market size is 70-80% of pre Lehman Shock.

The quickly estimated copper wire and cable shipment for domestic construction market and related wholesalers decreased by 10.8% to 21,700 tonnes in February from a year earlier. The copper volume lowered by 2.9% from a month ago due to the speculative demand in January.

The shipment for domestic power companies seems to have decreased as a rebound of high volume in September-November 2009 at above 7,000 tonnes per month.

The actual shipment of optical fiber products expanded by 117.6% to 1.92 kmf for export while decreased by 0.4% to 686,000 kmf for domestic market in January from a year earlier. The export keeps strong mainly for China.