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South Korea has experienced a sharp decrease in its entire copper semis range production in November 2008 according to the Korean Nonferrous Metal Association. Copper wirerod totalled 46,007 tonnes, falling by 18% y-o-y. Copper plate and strip plunged by almost 42% y-o-y to 10,744 tonnes. Copper tube also declined by approximately 26% to 9,448 tonnes, while copper and copper alloy bar production fell to 16,191 tonnes, a decline of approximately 8%. Overall, copper semis production in November 2008 dropped by 21.4% y-o-y. For the first eleven months of 2008, copper semis output amounted to 1,097,154 tonnes compared to 1,193,092 tonnes from the same period in 2007, declining by 8%. The economy has been hit by shrinking exports and weakening domestic demand. In response to the downturn, the government announced that it will invest 50 trillion won within the next four years in infrastructure and environment projects.

According to data from China Customs, Chinese imports of semi-finished copper products amounted to 51,900t in November, a slight increase from October's 51,000t but down 17.6% y-o-y. Compared to 2011, Chinese January-November semis imports were down 14.7% at 613,400t as the ramp-up in domestic semis production in China reduced the demand for foreign produced semis. China customs also reported that cathode imports rebounded in November to 250,666t, up 8.7% from October.

Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd. has announced that it will invest more than 220 million yuan in Tongling Nonferrous Stock Copper Semis Co., Ltd. As a result, the registered capital of its 100% owned subsidiary will rise from 60 million yuan to 280 million yuan. The subsidiary will be renamed to Tongling Nonferrous Tongguan Electronics Co., Ltd. It will engage in "the processing of copper semis such as enamelled wires, cables, phosphorus copper balls and other copper wire".

A number of copper semis projects were recently announced in China. Guangzhou JCC Copper Semis, which is a subsidiary of Jiangxi Copper, said that its 400ktpy copper wirerod project was started in Guangdong Zengcheng Economic and Technological Development Zone. It is expected that investment will amount to 2 billion yuan. Another copper wirerod project was initialised by Yingtan Jiangnan Copper in Yingtan Economic and Technological Development Zone. Capacity will amount to 50ktpy of copper wirerod, using copper scrap as raw material. The cost of the project will total 150 million yuan and it is anticipated that it will realise 320 million yuan of operating income when it is commissioned. In addition, a 40ktpy copper semis project was commissioned by Jiangxi Tungsten Catalana S. L. Copper Semis. Adopting European technology, products include high speed railway slip line.

Aurubis, the Germany-based copper smelter and semis producer, announced increased operating earnings before tax of €140M (US$188M) in the final quarter of 2012*, compared to €86M in the previous year (US$116M). Despite an improved group level performance, Aurubis noted weaknesses in its copper semis business, saying "sales volumes were down on the previous year due to weak markets." The company attributed the weak sales to poor demand from Southern Europe and a typical seasonal slowdown in Q4, however, the company noted a slightly better environment in North America. In their outlook for the coming year, Aurubis said they expect weak conditions to remain in Europe in the coming months, but expect stronger demand from North America and the Far East. The company said that they are experiencing slower demand for wire used in automotive harnesses but hope that wirerod will replace some of the current weakness. In other semis sectors, Aurubis expects better global demand for flat-rolled products and stronger appetite for copper shapes outside of Europe.

Assomet, Italy's non-ferrous metals association, reported that domestic production of copper and copper alloy semi-finished products contracted 5.4% y-o-y in 2011 to reach a total yearly output of 1.051M tonnes. This was attributed to metal price volatility impacting clients' procurement activity in addition to substitution losses, which continues because of the ongoing European debt crisis and its implications upon consumers' price sensitivity. Assomet also added that pure copper metal products have and will be more negatively impacted than copper alloy semis due to a higher copper intensity. This led to a drop of about 8% y-o-y in copper semis output this year, reaching 549,000t and production is expected to fall by 3% y-o-y in 2012. Whereas copper alloy semis output declined by 3% in 2011, reaching 502,000t. Production is anticipated to hold at the same level in 2012.

According to MarketWatch, copper semis fabricators are increasingly looking at supplying niche markets as a result of stagnating demand for more traditional copper semis products and pressure from substitute materials. For example, Luvata, a leading copper semis fabricator, is increasingly focusing on promoting uniquely thin and flexible copper wire utilised in efficient solar panels, as well as, anti-fowling wire for cages utilised by the fishing industry. Other fast growing markets that utilise niche copper semis products include oil and gas exploration, mining and wind generation.

According to data released by the Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers' Association, wire and cable sales in FY2008 plunged to 759,368 tonnes compared to 856,151 in FY2007. This represents a 11.3% y-o-y decline, reaching the lowest level since 1976. In addition, copper and copper alloy semis, including sheets and tubes, experienced a record y-o-y decrease in March, the lowest in more than 34 years. The Japan Copper and Brass Association reported that production of copper and copper alloy semis in March shrunk by 60% y-o-y to 34,440 tonnes. For the year ended 31st March, output fell by 19% y-o-y to 806,927 tonnes, the lowest since 1982.

According to Assomet, Italian copper and alloy semis output in 2009 will amount to 900,000-910,000 tonnes, down from earlier forecasts. Production in 2008 totalled 1.19 million tonnes. The association said that 2010 may see a slight recovery with output levels around 920,000-930,000 tonnes. Assomet had anticipated that copper and alloy semis output in 2009 and 2010 would reach 923,600 tonnes and 968,300 respectively. However, the association reviewed its forecasts after weaker-than-expected output in H2 2009. It was reported that for the nine months to September, copper and alloy semis output fell by 25.8% y-o-y to 685,000 tonnes.

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.

* Aurubis Group, the large German copper smelter and semis producer, announced on 13th December that its operating earnings before tax for the fiscal year Q4 2011-Q3 2012, had increased to EUR296M from EUR292M the previous year (US$385.5M from US$380.3M). Despite the headline increase in profitability, which was driven by the group's smelting unit, Aurubis reported that profits from "copper products were considerably down on the prior-year level due to weak markets for rod and shapes." Operating profits at the group's semis business fell to EUR10.1M this fiscal year from EUR49.7M the prior year (US$13.2M from US$64.7M), with Aurubis citing "the economic influences of the European debt crisis" as a factor weighing on the demand for copper products. Aurubis reported that copper tube output had fallen by 18% to 646,000t in 2011/2012 from 785,000t in 2010/11, copper continuous cast shapes output had fallen by 17% to 164,000t from 197,000t , whilst the output of flat rolled products fared better with output roughly unchanged at 217,000t.

The Italian association Assomet expects production of copper and copper alloy semis to fall by 2.4% in 2012, to 1.0Mt, mainly attributed to poor end-use demand, worsened by increases to housing and value-added taxes. Orders are erratic and the Italian copper semis production sector is currently operating at 50% capacity utilisation, whereas the copper alloy semis sector is slightly higher at 60%.

It was reported that Chinalco Luoyang Copper Co. Ltd. plans to boost production of copper semis in 2012. Output at the electronic copper strip plant is set to reach 55,000t this year. Overall, the company intends to produce 150,000t of nonferrous metal semis in 2012, up from 114,000t in 2011. Chinalco Luoyang Copper has a total nonferrous semis production capacity of 240,000t/y.

It was reported that Shandong Xiangrui Copper Semis Co. Ltd. bought a new 320,000t/y copper semis production facility into full operation during late August. The plant produces a variety of products. It's capacity includes 95,000t/y of copper wirerod, 100,000t/y of copper strip, 20,000t/y of overhead railway conductors and 10,500t/y of bare copper wire. Contirod continuous casting technology from Germany will be used for the process.

Jiangxi Copper announced plans that it will construct a large copper semis production base, which will have an annual capacity of 400,000 tonnes of copper semis, in Zhencheng City, Guangzhou Province. The company will invest a total of RMB2 billion (US$294 million) in this project. No further details are given.

Jiangxi Copper announced that it will, "cut the production of semi-finished products by 20-30% in August," following a request from the local authorities that it reduce its power consumption. The company has the capacity to produce 700,000tpy of refined copper and 370,000tpy of semis. The company said that it would "try to maintain normal production of refined copper," and that it would, "cut imports of refined copper as production of semi-finished products fell."

Chinese copper and copper alloy semis production has continued to surge in the first quarter of 2008 according to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics. Production expanded by 24.6% year-on-year to 1.787 million tonnes compared to 1.432 million tonnes in the same period of 2007. Production in March totalled 643,000 tonnes a 15.9% rise from the 555,000 tonnes of copper semis manufactured in the same month of 2007. Total production last year was 6.626 million tonnes. The latest numbers demonstrate China's growing appetite for both refined and scrap copper even at extremely high price levels. However, recent reports suggest that the rate of growth will moderate in April.

Copper semis production still growing strongly up 25% yoy in Q1 2008

The Chinese Henan Province has announced that it plans to invest in key regional projects. According to the plans, nine projects are related to the non-ferrous metals industry, two of which are copper semis plants. The first is a high precision electronic copper sheet and coil project of Chalco Luoyang Copper Co., Ltd. with annual capacity of 100,000 t. The second is a copper sheet and coil project of Henan Sanfeng Copper Co., Ltd. with annual capacity of 50,000 t.

According to preliminary data released by the Japan Copper and Brass Association, production of rolled copper and alloy semis in April fell by 48.6% y-o-y to an estimated 44,420t. Compared with March, the figure represents a 28.7% rise, however, April was the 9th consecutive month that production fell. The Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers' Association said last week that copper wire and cable sales in April dropped by 26.3% y-o-y and 18.8% m-o-m to an estimated 52,200t. The deep economic downturn continues to take its toll on copper consumption in the world's second largest economy.

Aurubis, a leading European copper semis fabricator, said that it saw product demand and production recover in mid-May in the wire and cable industry and in some other copper semis sectors. The wirerod market, especially the automotive wiring industry, is supported by government stimulus packages. It said orders for continuous cast shapes also stabilised in May then rose slightly in June. The company reported pretax profit in the third quarter to June fell to 51m euros (US$72m). Product output was 479,000t of wire rod and 111,000t of continuous cast shapes for the first nine months.