Better Japan Rolled Copper Output, Slow Electric Wire Shipment in May

Japanese rolled copper production decreased by 41.5% to 48,550 tonnes in May from a year earlier, which represents decreases for 10 months in a row, announced by Japan Copper and Brass Association on Wednesday. The decrease got narrower for 3 months in a row from record 60.2% drop in March. Japanese copper electric wire shipment decreased by 31.4% to 44,700 tonnes in copper volume in May from a year earlier, according to report of around 130 members by Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Makers’ Association. The shipment was second lowest after 42,717 tonnes in February 1975. The copper related products showed mixed activity depending on the user industries.

Better inventory position contributed to the higher rolled copper operation. The copper strip output decreased by 43.2% to 12,620 tonnes in May from a year earlier. The decrease was 13.2 percentage points lower than April. The phosphor bronze output decreased by 49.9% to 2,337 tonnes, which was narrower drop than record drop of 80.6% in February. The brass bar output decreased by 39.7% to 11,038 tonnes while the copper tube output decreased by 23.6% to 10,845 tonnes.

The copper wire demand is very slow for construction application. The shipment for construction industry in May hit less than 20,000 tonnes for the first time since 1983. The shipment increased for automobile in month to month for 3 months in a row. The shipment for electric machinery and electronics devices kept 9,000 tonnes for 3 months in a row after the bottom of 8,833 tonnes in February. The optical fiber shipment increased by 12.9% to 3.17 million kilometers core in April from a year earlier.