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According to preliminary data from the Japan Brass and Copper Association, Japanese output of rolled copper and alloy products fell 5.3% y-o-y in January, to 60,117t. However, this represents a 4.7% m-o-m increase from the 42-month low figure recorded in December. Copper and alloy tube production, as well as alloy RBS output, have seen the greatest declines in recent years.

According to data from the Copper and Brass Servicenter Association(CBSA), total shipments from US brass and copper mills slipped 1.1% y-o-y in 2012, to 261.5Mlb (118,600t). Data from November had indicated that year-to-date shipments were roughly unchanged from 2011, however, a 16.9% m-o-m drop in shipments in December tipped total shipments into contraction territory for the year. In general, copper semis shipments were stronger than alloy shipments, with copper rod shipments up 8.3% in 2012, to 64.4Mlb (29,200t). Total alloy shipments fell 5.4% in 2012, to 139.6Mlb (63,300t), with 300-series alloy RBS shipments declining by the largest amount in the year, falling 11.9% to 61.3Mlb (27,800t).

According to Aurubis Buffalo's vice president of marketing and sales, demand for brass mill products in the US has been strong so far in 2013. The company has seen a strong pickup in demand from sectors including ammunition, electronics, heating and HVAC so far this year. The executive said that lead times at service centers were longer than eight weeks in January for flat-rolled products and that the company is considering hiring more workers at its Buffalo operation to meet the demand.

The demand for copper flat-rolled products softened coming into March after a strong start to the year, according to sources at some US service centers. Lead times for some copper products, which were quoted as long as eight weeks back in January, may have shorted to six weeks or less in March according to an American Metal Market report. A drop in demand for appliances and connectors market was noted by some sources contacted by AMM, but sales of ammunition, a key end-use of flat-rolled brass, have remained buoyant since the start of the year.

Brazilian copper and alloy semis manufacturer Termomecanica is planning to invest BRL300M (US$143M) in several new products and production facilities. The plans will see the company develop a new line of tube and rolled products, as well as new brass rebar production facilities in Chile and Argentina. The company said that its current production capacity is 140,000 t/y, and that they are producing about 90,000 tpy, stating that they believe in the expansion of the domestic market and an in increase exports. Termomecanica's industrial facilities include two sites in the city of São Bernardo in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, two distribution centres in São Bernardo and Joinvile. The new expansion will add an additional 7% of capacity to the company's operations.