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Wieland-Werke AG, the German fabricator of brass mill products, reported sales of 475,000t, down by 0.4% y-o-y in financial year 2010/2011. Turnover increased by 24% y-o-y to reach €3,287M and profits also rose to €45M in 2010/2011 after a loss of €6M in the previous year. The rise in turnover was mainly attributed to rising metals prices, while the company said that the increase in profits was caused by a product mix composed of a larger amount of value-added products. Wieland noted strong demand in the first six months of the period, which was offset by the Euro debt-crisis as a driver of significantly weaker demand in Europe during the latter half of the fiscal year. In addition, the company saw a fall in demand in Asia from Spring 2011 and continued very low demand in North America. End-use consumer demand was weak and impacted the electronics and electrical engineering sectors as well as vehicle production. Mechanical engineering was considered to be a bright spot in fiscal year 2010/2011.

Wieland-Werke AG, the German fabricator of brass mill products, stated that demand in 2012 began weakly. After January, orders rose only slightly, but demand from important markets in Asia and Europe declined, principally attributed to cautious buying as fears remained over the impact of the course of the euro debt crisis in 2012. In addition, the company is experiencing reduced demand from the electronics industry in Asia following the closure of several plants affected by the tsunami in Japan and flooding in Thailand. Wieland has also not seen any growth support from North America and is uncertain about the global outlook for demand in 2012 due to the unpredictability of the euro debt crisis.

It was reported that Zhejiang Hailiang Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of copper semi fabricated products, intends to acquire a 1.12% stake in the Chinese copper and nickel producer, Jinchuan Group. Hailiang expects to invest RMB800M (US$126M) into the producer company as it readies for its upcoming IPO in China. The move toward greater upstream copper processing exposure was attributed to risks associated with Hailiang's high dependence on copper products fabrication and Jinchuan's experience in managing overseas assets.

Aurubis AG reported that its production of copper wirerod was down by 22% y-o-y and 14% q-o-q to reach 155,000t in Q2 2012, marking a faster decline from the 17% y-o-y fall in Q1 2012. The company said that the decrease in volumes was driven by slower demand from cable and enamelled wire producers. This came despite stronger demand from the automotive sector and signs of a pick-up in demand from the infrastructure sector in late Q2. Aurubis also produces copper and copper-alloy shapes, pre-rolled products, finished flat rolled products and speciality wire. Output of shapes fell by 25% y-o-y and 13% q-o-q to reach 41,000t in Q2, due to weak demand from semi-fabricators. However at Schwermetall, the company's 50%-owned subsidiary, production of pre-rolled strip decreased by only 5% y-o-y to reach 49,000t in Q2, as demand from semi-fabricators for this product held-up better. The year-on-year change in finished flat rolled products output was distorted by the acquisition of Luvata's rolled products division (RPD). However, volumes in the division did fall by 5% q-o-q reaching 57,000t in Q2, contributing towards across-the-board sequential declines for Aurubis' copper products output in Q2.

According to a survey performed by Antaike, the mining and metals information provider, average operating rates of facilities in China producing copper flat rolled products fell to 55.8%, down by 3.4% m-o-m in October. The reduction in plant utilisation has been attributed to weak end-use demand from the domestic electronics and automotive sectors since the end of H1 2011, as well as decreasing export orders. Additionally, the volatile copper price is thought to have led to production cuts at copper plate, sheet, strip and foil fabrication plants. The survey also indicated that 50% of the 22 manufacturers sampled believe that demand will continue to decline and 40% think that it will not grow in the short term. Companies cited decreased buying associated with the Christmas and New Year holidays and shrinking exports of end-use products such as electronics and home appliances due to uncertainty stemming from the European debt crisis.

TEPCO, a Japanese power supplier announced that it will increase its electricity prices for corporate clients by an average of 17% to cover higher energy costs for the use of thermal power plants while the firm idles many of its nuclear power facilities. The Japan Copper and Brass Association diapproves of the move, which it says would add ¥1.2 - 1.3B/y in production costs at the affected brass mills. The 23 copper product fabrication sites within the TEPCO supply area account for 43% of total copper semis output in Japan.

It was reported that Eredi Gnutti Metalli (EGM), Italy's leading copper alloy semis fabricator, holds a positive outlook on production in the coming months in spite of economic turbulence in the eurozone. The company is hoping to increase its production to between 120,000t and 130,000t in the 2012 fiscal year. EGM has been undergoing a process of consolidation in recent months and has recently procured copper and copper alloy semis fabricator Ilnor.

Aurubis AG, the Germany-headquartered refined copper cathode and copper products fabricator, reported a weak performance in sales of copper products in the first quarter of this year. In Q1, the outputs of wirerod; pre-rolled strip; continuous cast shapes; rolled products and speciality wire reached 179,000t, 41,000t, 47,000t and 60,000t, down by 17% y-o-y, down by 15% y-o-y, up by 2% y-o-y and up by 329% y-o-y, respectively. Generally, the seasonal upswing in Q2 was weaker than expected, however, there was a mixture of performances in the sectors within each market, as some wirerod market sectors ordered strongly but European semi-fabricators and customers of strip and speciality wire continued to order shrinking quantities at late notice.

Aurubis reported a growth outlook for its copper products business unit. The company said that the performance of copper wirerod depends upon the progress of power grid expansion projects in Europe. The automotive sector is expected to continue to support growing wirerod sales for the next few months, however the enamelled wire industry is expected to remain weak attributed to poor demand in southern Europe. North American demand is anticipated to support growth in shipments of copper shapes as well as the company's market for flat copper products. In this regard, the US electronics and electrical industry, engine cooling and distribution segments are expected to continue improving. Stagnant European and Asian demand for flat copper products will partially undermine growth in North America. The company added that it does not anticipate the Asian copper products market to recover until the end of Summer 2012, at which time, demand in the US is expected to be good and demand from European-based operations will be recovering.

The China Non-ferrous Metals Fabrication Industrial Association (CNFA) announced that it is considering legislative changes that could see more stringent standards for introducing new copper processing facilities in China. The association warned that there could be a copper products surplus in 2015 following the start-up of new projects, adding that processing capacity should not exceed production by more than 15%. CNFA figures indicate that China produced 10.28Mt of copper products in 2011, up by 18% y-o-y. Processing capacity and utilisation rates were estimated at 12Mt/y and 90% at the end of 2011.

"A peer-reviewed life-cycle assessment (LCA) study shows a major decline in energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions for primary aluminum production in the U.S. and Canada. The study covers all life cycle impacts from aluminum production through semi-fabrication."

Olin Brass, a division of Global Brass & Copper LLC since Global's $400 million purchase of Olin Corp. in November, is looking to increase product prices in response to rapidly increasing costs and softening demand from end-user markets. The price rises are one aspect of a wider re-organisation by Global in an attempt to offset rising raw material and energy costs. According to the company these initiatives have led to productivity gains of over 10 percent, freeing up significant working capital. However Global comments, "our input costs keep going up at such a rate we simply can't be profitable despite cost savings that we've put in place. We need to receive more for our product." Olin is also being hit by depressed end-user markets. As the slowdown in residential construction activities following the sub-prime mortgage crisis continues, demand in the fabrication sector remains low. The US Department of Commerce reported a 3.3% drop in housing starts in May, with building permits for future construction declining to an annual rate of 969,000. Despite the somewhat bleak outlook the falling dollar against a basket of foreign currencies has lead some copper and brass business that was moved offshore to return to the U.S. lately. "It's not a torrent of products coming back, but whereas in 2001 through 2003 we saw an exodus of business from here to China, this has slowed if not balanced out with some things coming back" according to Olin Brass. Olin brass is a manufacturer and distributor of copper and copper-alloy sheet, strip, plate, foil, and fabricated components in headquartered in Illinois, USA.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have set a world record in solar cell efficiency with a photovoltaic device that converts 40.8% of the light that hits it into electricity. This is the highest confirmed efficiency of any photovoltaic device to date. The inverted metamorphic triple-junction solar cell was designed, fabricated and independently measured at NREL. The 40.8% efficiency was measured under concentrated light of 326 suns. One sun is about the amount of light that typically hits Earth on a sunny day. The new cell is a candidate for the space satellite market and for terrestrial concentrated photovoltaic arrays, which use lenses or mirrors to focus sunlight onto solar cells.

Many Japanese scrap dealers have reduced their shipments to copper alloy fabricators by more than 20% in October due to falling demand. Copper fabricators have decreased their scrap purchasing volumes because of weaker semis output. A number of brass bar makers decreased their buying volume of brass turning scrap by more than 30% in October. From the supply side, copper scrap generation has been tight. Scrap availability has been falling since July and that has triggered competition between scrap dealers to maintain adequate levels of inventory, which resulted in a spike in the market price in September.

The Nizhni Novgorod Copper Company will invest around RUB800M (US$32M) in a copper wirerod plant in Dzerzhinsk, in the Nizhni Novgorod region of Russia. The plant is expected to have an annual capacity of 25,000t/y, and will use 26,000t/y of copper scrap. Commissioning is expected in late 2010.

In late-May, two further large metal recycling projects have been announced in China as the country seeks to satisfy its burgeoning need for scrap metal given its shortfall in mineral resources. The Wuzhou Resource Recycling project has been approved to be constructed in Cangwu county in Guangxi province. The total investment in the project is 15bn Yuan. The construction is planned to cover an area of 667 hectares, divided into three stages, and will eventually create 40,000 new jobs. Separately, the Zhonghong recycling industrial park in Shenyang, Liaoning province has been completed and is to open in early June. The industrial park covers an area of 3 square kilometres and has cost 5bn Yuan to develop. It will create 10,000 employment opportunities and has dismantling capacity of 1 million metric tonnes per year.

China to boost scrap recovery for smelters and fabricators

The Chinese government is supporting the copper industry by eliminating taxes on copper concentrate imports and finished copper products exports. China is the world's top copper consumer and according to Antaike Chinese copper consumption in 2009 will grow by 2.1%, revised down from its previous forecast of more than 6%. The duty-free trading policies will benefit copper smelters and fabricators, however, weak global demand will continue to take its toll on Chinese exports.

Finish copper fabricator Luvata intends to improve its supply chain with the prospect of economic recovery. The company anticipates that the market will recover by the end of Q1 2010 and recognises that it needs to prepare so as to regain market share. Senior Vice President of procurement Bob Kickham said that once the market starts to recover, copper prices may increase again. Given the ongoing fears of substitution toward aluminium, a more streamlined and efficient supply chain will provide considerable support to copper.

Luvata, a copper semis fabricator, believes that even though destocking in the copper supply chain is over, a significant rise in demand is not anticipated until mid-2010. The company expects that Asia will be the first region to recover, followed by North America and Europe. As a result of destocking, Luvata has got used to operating at a lower level of stock, and therefore became more efficient in its production procedures. The company intends to keep operating at lower stock levels even in periods of growth. While demand before the summer showed some recovery signs, the company is now waiting for the autumn to see whether the positive trend will continue.

Jingcheng Copper Co. Ltd. announced that it will expand its high precision copper alloy sheet and strip project from 20ktpy to 30ktpy. The new project will produce brass strip for linker, socket connector, decorating, electronic equipment and other applications. The total investment of the project amounts to 495M yuan (US$73M) whilst it will take 23 months to construct. Jingcheng Copper is a copper and alloy sheet and strip fabricator located in Wuhu City, Anhui Province, with total capacity of 70ktpy and annual production value of 2B yuan (US$293M).