Japanese Electric Copper Cable Shipment Decreases by 4.2% M/M in December

Japanese domestic shipment of electric wire and cable was quickly estimated at 56,300 tonnes of copper in December, minus by 4.2% month-to-month while down by 2.4% year-to-year, according to a survey on approximately 130 makers those who belong to Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Makers’ Association. The shipment represented month-to-month down for 2 months in a row. The demand from domestic construction market kept stagnant while the volume recovery for automobiles and electric appliances slowed down.

The actual shipment of optical fiber products in November was 3.15 million kilometers of fiber core (kmf), plus by 24.4% year-to-year.

Copper wire and cable shipment for domestic construction market has almost hovered at 22,000-25,000 tonnes per month since April 2009. The demand downsized by about 20% compared with the first half if fiscal 2008 (April-September 2008). Cable shipment keeps inactive in response to stagnancy in domestic construction market.

Copper wire and cable shipment for automobiles and electric appliances leveled off for September-December 2009. The volume recovery might settle down when domestic operations of Japanese automakers and electric appliance makers seem to have reached the present peak.

Copper wire and cable shipment for domestic power companies widely declined at December’s quick estimation compared with November. One background is that the shipment volume tends to drop in every December. Another factor is that the shipment hit the very high volume during September-November 2009.

As to optical fiber products, the actual shipment in November expanded by 55.8% to 2.47 million kmf for export while decreased by 28.2% to 680,000 kmf for domestic market compared with a year earlier. The export maintained very strong.