Group items tagged

According to data from the Japanese Wire and Cable Makers' Association, shipments from Japanese wire and cable producers declined 0.8% y-o-y in October, taking total shipments to 60,000t. Japanese wire and cable manufacturers have been seeking to boost sales overseas and outside of traditional telecoms and power sectors. Last week, Furukawa Electric announced plans to invest in infrastructure to generate more sales in the auto industry, while Hitachi Cable announced a tie-up with sister company Hitachi Metals and a greater focus on export markets in a bid to restructure and boost sales.

According to a statement from the Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers' Association, Japanese shipments of copper wire and cable could rise by as much as 2.2% in the fiscal year Q2 2013 to Q1 2014. This would see shipments rise to 701,000t from an estimated 685,700t in the fiscal year ending March 2013. Although Japanese wire and cable shipments have grown for four consecutive years, copper wire and cable shipments in 2012 were still around 20% lower than levels seen in 2007.

According to data from the Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Makers' Association, shipments of copper wire and cable from Japanese manufacturers fell 2.7% y-o-y in January, to 54,500t, a second monthly fall. Shipments of copper cables to the autos industry fell by 15.1% y-o-y to 5,300t whilst delivery of wires to the electric-machinery sector fell 4.1% y-o-y to 12,200t. An official from the research department of the association said that the recent falls in the Japanese Yen had yet to feed through into demand for exports, however, he said that demand for cables may pick up in the next fiscal year.

"Global automotive wiring harness sales were expected to increase to 41 billion $ in 2014. However this is not a true reflection of the industry: The two largest Japanese manufacturers account for 50% of the market, and with the Japanese Yen devaluating, the market experienced a significant decline when measured in US dollars. Also, due to the decline in copper prices and several lawsuits for."

According to data released by the Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers' Association, Japanese copper wire and cable offtake in September contracted by 17% y-o-y, the 12th sequential monthly decrease. Shipments in September amounted to an estimated 57,800t, a 14% m-o-m increase. The copper wire and cable sales forecast for FY2009 has been revised down to 648,000t compared to an earlier projection of 705,000t.

According to a statement from the Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Makers' Association, Japanese shipments of copper wire and cable fell by 6.2% y-o-y in February, to 55.700t, the third straight month of y-o-y production declines. Shipments from exporters were particularly weak in February with output declining 54.9% y-o-y. Weakness was also noted in the automotive and electrical machinery sectors with shipments falling 17.3% y-o-y and 7.8% y-o-y respectively.

According to a press release from the Japanese wire and cable makers association, shipments of wire and cable from Japanese factories increased by 3.1% y-o-y in November.

According to Tetsu Takahashi, chairman of the Japan Copper & Brass Association, Japanese production of copper and alloy semi-finished products will total 770,000t in 2012, the lowest level since 2009. However, the association is more positive on the prospects for 2013 suggesting that output could expand by 4%, supported by a weaker yen and more accommodative government policies. The association believes that the new government's efforts to reconstruct areas damaged by the 2011 earthquake, as well as the possibility for a rebound in autos exports to China, should lift the demand for Japanese semis in 2013.

Nisshin Steel Co, the Japanese manufacturer of steel flat-rolled products, announced on April 12th that it will establish a joint venture in China with another Japanese company to manufacture copper plated steel. According to the company, the joint venture will make copper plated steel for the automotive sector and will target Japanese automakers based in China.

According to preliminary data released by the Japan Copper and Brass Association, Japanese output of brass mill products declined by 5.5% y-o-y in December, to 57,523t. If the data remains unchanged, this would see the overall output of Japanese brass mill products in 2012 fall 6.7% y-o-y. This is roughly in line with the rate of decline predicted by Tetsu Takahashi, President of the association, in a December announcement. The association is more positive on the prospects for 2013 suggesting that output could expand by 4%, supported by a weaker Yen and more accommodative government policies.

According to the Japan Copper and Brass Association, Japanese output of rolled copper products rose by 21% y-o-y to 75,094 tonnes in July 2010. The figure represents a 21-month high, supported by strong exports to China and other Asian countries. It was also a 3% increase from the previous month. It was reported that Japanese output exhibits steady recovery; however, a stronger yen and the end of government subsidies for eco-friendly cars at the end of September will challenge the demand outlook in the second half of the year. In addition, the Ministry of Finance said that Japan's refined copper exports rose by 5% y-o-y to 44,875 tonnes in July, the first y-o-y increase in nine months. China accounted for 45% of total exports in July, compared with 41% in June.

Two Japanese companies are working together to develop carbon fiber materials for use in cars, according to a Reuters report. Toray Industries (3402.T) and Mitsubishi Rayon (3404.T) hope to mass produce the lightweight material by 2010 in an effot to make vehicles 40% lighter and up to 30% more fuel efficient. They also intend to develop technology to recycle carbon fiberin order to bring costs down. For years, proponents of carbon fiber materials have supported its widespread use in vehicles, but the cost of the highly engineered materials was prohibitive. Now with gasoline and steel prices on the rise, carbon fiber is becoming more economically feasible. The Nikkei business daily reported that Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. were participating in the partnership, along with Toyobo Takagi Seiko Corp and researchers from the University of Tokyo. However, both Nissan and Honda denied that they were participating in the project. A spokeswomam for Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization said teh government is also researching the further use of aluminum and other light-weight metals to replace steel.

The Japan Copper and Brass Association announced on July 25th that Japanese rolled copper output fell 1% to 504,455 tonnes in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2007. This is the second year in a row that has seen a decline in output. With building activity slow, buyers minimized purchase to avoid price change risk with the fluctuation of copper ingot, leading to the output fall. Copper strip and brass strip saw a 3.4% increase to 137,005 tonnes and 6.5% rise to 67,900 tonnes respectively over the same period due to higher demand from the automobile sector. Brass bar and copper tube output both fell in H1 on prior year. The slow building market saw brass bar output decrease 4.6% to 113,532 tonnes while an increase in offshore production from Japanese air conditioning manufacturers led to an 8.2% decrease in copper tube output to 82,843 tonnes.

The Japan Copper & Brass Association reported Japanese copper rolled product import fell by 2.5% y-o-y to 50,057t in the fiscal year ending March 2008. While volume of import was still high, it has fallen y-o-y the first time since the fiscal year ending March 2002. Copper tube import decreased by 19% y-o-y to 10,661t, partly due to the slowdown of new housing starts after the Japanese imposed new building standard law. Biggest importers to Japan are reported to be South Korea, China, Germany, Taiwan and North America.

According to the Japan Copper and Brass Association, total production of copper and copper alloy semis fell by 4.1% y-o-y to 72,770t in July. Output also contracted by 0.5% m-o-m in July, a second consecutive monthly decline. The fall is attributed in large part to the struggling automotive sector, which has been strongly impacted by the 11th March disaster.

Production for domestic shipments contracted by 6.6% y-o-y to reach 51,112t, whilst output for export markets fell more rapidly in January, reaching 8,898t after a 23.1% y-o-y decline (this however, was narrower than the December drop in exports of 30.7% y-o-y). Copper strip still represented the most heavily produced brass mill semi-fabricated product (27.7% of overall production in gross weight) but output decreased by 11.3% y-o-y, amounting to 16,600t in January. This was principally attributed to weak interconnector demand, the impact of the flooding in Thailand and the highly appreciated yen affecting the export market. Copper tube output decreased by 14.5% y-o-y to 9,750t in January, on weak demand from air conditioner manufacturers caused by bad weather and a slow world economy. Brass bar production fell by 7.7% y-o-y but rose by 900t since December to reach 14,206t in January. The change was attributed to improving demand from the domestic automotive and plumbing sectors.

Data provided by the Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers' Association shows that the country's wire and cable shipments dropped 18.8% from March and 26.3% to 52,000 tonnes from a year ago. The association also said that it expects Japanese wire and cable consumption, which accounts for 60% of total copper demand, will fall to its lowest in 34 years in FY2009. However, exports to China have been increasing in recent months. Toyota Motor Corp, the world's largest carmaker, said it predicts its vehicle sales to be 1 million less than the previous year.

Data from the Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers Association revealed that exports fells by almost 32% m-o-m in July. Wire and cable exports fell 51% y-o-y in July. Predictions for August expect a further fall of 22% y-o-y. The country receiving the largest share of exports from Japan is Qatar, which predominantly imports electrical power cable.

A number of Japanese companies have halted operations in Egypt due to the recent turmoil. It was reported that Sumitomo Electric Industries (SEI) decided to temporarily close its automotive wiring harness plant in Egypt. The plant employs around 700, 19 of which are Japanese and expected to be evacuated to Europe. Other major Japanese companies the operations of which have been affected include Nissan Motor, Suzuki Motor, Mitsubishi Corp and Mitsui & Co.

Taiwanese end-use sectors that consume copper semis will be impacted by the earthquake in Japan, according to the Industrial Economics & Knowledge Centre. End-use sectors that will face a disruption in the supply or raw materials and parts include display panels, semiconductors, machinery equipment and solar cells. Major Japanese fabricators of electrodeposited copper foil and rolled copper foil JX Nippon Mining & Metals and Hitachi Cable have factories in areas that have been impacted by the earthquake.

Chilean private miners association Sonami and copper and mining study group Cesco anticipate that Japanese copper demand will significantly recover in Q3 of the current year. It is expected that the market for copper will remain weak for several months due to the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that hit the country on 11th March. However, reconstruction-related copper demand is predicted to exhibit significant growth rates from Q3 2011.

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.