Japanese Copper Fabricators’ Output Levels Off at 67,000T in January

Japan Copper & Brass Association announced on Wednesday Japanese copper alloy fabricators’ output was quickly estimated at 67,300 tonnes in January, up by 55.2% from a year earlier. The production represented the year-to-year increase for 3 months in a row while the production was almost unchanged from 67,414 tonnes in December 2009. The demand has recovered from domestic automobile industry and Asian market while maintained stagnant from domestic constructions.

Copper strip production increased by 37.1% to 15,270 tonnes for domestic market and expanded to 2.8 times of 5,680 tonnes for export in January from a year earlier. Offshore demand is steady for automobiles and digital appliances mainly in China. Brass strip production expanded by 2.4 times to 9,576 tonnes and phosphor bronze sheet and strip increased by 3.1 times of 4,028 tonnes due to the same factors.

Brass bar production represented the year-to-year increase for 2 months in a row. The demand maintains low from domestic construction market while cadmium-free brass bar demand is recovering for exporting automobiles and home appliances. Meanwhile, copper tube production became lower than 10,000 tonnes for 6 straight months.