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Aurubis AG, a leading integrated supplier of refined copper and copper products, has said that its wirerod sales increased m-o-m in September 2011. Copper cake and billet sales are slightly below anticipated levels and the company said that customers have recently been more cautious and have sought some new financing sources. However, macroeconomic concerns have not affected order numbers.

Kobelco, a diversified Japanese group with interests ranging from copper to construction machinery, announced on 19th November that it is licensing one of its leading copper alloy products, used in terminals and connectors, to German firm Wieland. The company said that the deal would allow it "to establish a global supply network for copper alloys, especially for automotive applications." The announcement marks the second time Kobelco have expanded their global presence in the copper alloys market through such an agreement, with the company licensing the same technology to Aurubis Buffalo Inc for US manufacturing and distribution in 2008.

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.

Following announcements from Aurubis and Revere about planned rises in their US fabrication charges, Olin Brass Corp. and Hussey Copper Corp. have also unveiled their plans to increase fabrication conversion prices. Olin Brass Corp. intends to increase charges by 5¢/lb on all alloy orders shipped from 1st March. Hussey Copper Corp. will increase charges by up to 10% on its copper products, including sheet, strip, bar and plate on shipments from 1st March. Olin Brass attributed the rise in its prices to escalating inflationary costs related to supplies, maintenance, energy and healthcare. Hussey stated that the charge increases were essential for ensuring continued investment in its equipment, products and people.