Group items tagged

According to CRU's forecasts presented at the 9th World Copper Conference in Santiago, global copper consumption in 2009 is expected to fall by 2 to 3 million tonnes. This represents a 15-20% y-o-y plunge compared with 2008. The severe contraction is attributed to the global economic crisis and the freefall that many industries, such as the automotive sector, have experienced. In the first two months of 2009 total consumption of copper and copper alloy semis declined by 32% y-o-y, while that of copper wire and wirerod fell by 25% y-o-y. In the same period, insulated wire and cable decreased by 30%.

Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd., Yazaki Corp. and other automotive wiring harness manufacturers have temporarily shut down some of their production lines in Thailand. This follows the severe flooding which directly led to Honda Motor Co. closing down local assembly lines at its factory in Bangkok as well as Toyota Motor Co. shutting down its three plants in Eastern Thailand due to parts shortages.

JX Nippon Mining & Metals, an integrated Japan-based refined copper and semi-finished products fabricator, began full-scale production of an ultrathin rolled copper foil, measuring between 6 and 9 microns in thickness. The new products are suitable for use in smartphones and tablet PCs. Advances made in the company's rolling and surface roughening process technology led to the development of the new products. The company estimates that it holds a 75% global market share of treated rolled copper foil, which finds its main application in flexible printed circuit boards for mobile devices.

SuperPower Inc, a subsidiary of Furukawa Electric, announced on 7th December that it plans to double the production capacity of superconducting wirerod at its US plant in 2013. The company said it anticipates demand for the wirerod, which is used in areas such as superconducting magnetic energy storage, will increase over the next four to five years, and that it is intending to raise production to meet the new demand.

Ningbo Kangqiang Electronics reported that despite the recent liquidity tightening in China, their copper demand expectations remain optimistic. The company, which uses copper plate and strip, said that copper demand will peak in March and April, when Chinese copper fabricators traditionally increase production. It was reported that Chinese copper semis manufacturers will see demand for their products rise after the Lunar New Year (February 14th).

Poongsan Corporation raised its sales targets, backed by strong Chinese demand. The company is expecting to sell some 210,000t of copper and alloy semis this year, compared to an earlier forecast of 205,000t. In addition, the company is expanding capacity in sheet and strip products used in electronics. It was reported that sheet and strip capacity will increase by 22%, to be completed by 2012.

It was reported that Furukawa Sangyo Kaisha, Ltd. will establish a sales base in Guangzhou, China, in February 2011. Furukawa Electric's core trading subsidiary aims to benefit from the large number of electronics and auto makers located in Guangzhou City. The company intends to expand sales of electric wire for appliances, wire harnesses, copper and brass semis, as well as aluminium products.

Chinese imports of refined copper and copper products increased to 364,420t in January 2011. The numbers surpassed earlier expectations based on the closed arbitrage window and the Chinese New Year festive season. Imports were up by 5.7% from December 2010 and 24.7% from January 2010. The fact that Chinese copper buying was stronger than expected in the last three months implies that tightening monetary policies had little impact on copper demand.

Paranapanema announced that it approved a capacity expansion and technology modernisation plan, supported by a positive macroeconomic outlook and favourable price trends for its products. The market will be boosted by Brazil's anticipated economic growth, and in particular by infrastructure, civil construction, electricity and green power projects. In addition, the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games will provide further support. Paranapanema will increase its refined copper capacity at its Dias D'Avila unit from 230,000tpy to 280,000tpy in H1 2012. The company will also install a precious metal refining plant at the same unit, scheduled to be operational in H2 2012. Paranapanema's copper semis division, Eluma, will expand its cold rolling capacity from 28,000tpy to 55,000tpy. Furthermore, hot rolled products capacity will rise from 60,000tpy to 200,000tpy whilst tube capacity from 18,000tpy to 36,000tpy. Investment of the entire plan for 2011-13 will amount to 630 million reais (US$377 million).

"Brazilian copper products manufacturer Paranapanema's (Bovespa: PMAM3) board has approved an investment plan of 630mn reais (US$377mn) for the 2011-13 period."

Hong Kong Haojidi International Group established Huameida Copper Co., Ltd. in Liaoning Province, China, the investment of which amounted to US$100M. Huameida Copper will engage in the manufacturing of copper semis. According to plans, the company will have capacity of 100ktpy of copper wirerod and 1.2ktpy of solar battery copper wire. It was commented that when the project is commissioned, it will be the largest copper wirerod project in the three north eastern provinces of China (Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang).

Antaike reported that sales income from the 'traded in' home appliances policy reached 150B yuan by the end of 2nd March 2011. In addition, volume of new and old appliances amounted to 40M and 41M sets respectively. Appliances included in the policy are TV sets, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and computers. The scheme has triggered a considerable consumption volume of copper semis, such as copper commercial tube used in the manufacturing of refrigerators and air conditioners.

Chinese Henan Longhui Copper Co. Ltd. has confirmed that its copper and copper alloy tube and copper pipe project is underway and is expected to be completed by June 2011. The operation is expected to produce 90,000t/y of copper and copper alloy tube, including large-calibre copper tube and corrosion-resisting copper alloy tube, and 100,000t/y of copper pipe. The project will be completed at a cost of RMB1B and is expected to generate RMB10B in sales revenue and RMB500M in pre-tax profit. The company, which is located in the Mengzhuang Industrial zone of Hui county in Henan province, produced 380,000t of copper tube in 2010 and generated RMB23.5B in sales revenue.

Chinese Zhengwei International Group Co. Ltd. has confirmed that it will undertake a 250,000t/y copper wirerod project in Wuwei County of Anhui Province. Another Chinese copper semis producer, Anhui Xinke New Materials Co. Ltd., has announced plans for a 120,000t/y copper wirerod project. The project will take two years to develop at a cost of RMB665.6M.

It was reported that Steel Dynamics Inc., the US based semis fabricator, has begun construction of its new US$39M copper wirerod manufacturing facility in Indiana, US. The company expects the plant, which marks its entry into the copper wirerod market, to have a production capacity of 180Mlbs/y and to commence operations in Q2 2012. The facility is owned by SDI LaFarga LLC, a JV between Steel Dynamics and LaFarga Group who hold stocks of 55% and 45% respectively. Indiana is a notable location within the US wirerod market as it is home to consumers, Rea Magnet Wire Co. Inc. and CerroWire LLC.

Aurubis AG and Luvata Group have agreed a closing date for the sale of Luvata's rolled copper and brass products division (RPD). Aurubis originally expected the deal to close in August, however, delays in seeking regulatory approval has caused the date to slip to 1st September. Aurubis has received clearance from the US and Turkish regulatory authorities but is awaiting a response from the European Union's antitrust body. The early May agreement stated that Aurubis will pay the Net Working Capital of Luvata RPD at the time of closing, anticipated to be between EUR200 - 250M. The final price is subject to copper price movements and stock levels at Luvata RPD.

The Copper and Brass Servicenter Association reported that shipments of brass mill products amounted to 23.1Mlbs in June 2011, up slightly from 23.0Mlbs on the previous month and down by 6.5% y-o-y. The positive signs of growth that were registered earlier in this year, which peaked during March as shipments reached 25Mlbs, subsequently dropped and levelled off in Q2. Slower growth in June compared with the same month last year is attributed to shipments of brass products falling 12.8Mlbs, down by 12% y-o-y, with the largest drops in shipments occurring within the brass sheet, rod and bar product segments.

Paranapanema, a Brazilian metal semis producer, began developing its US$47M seamless copper tube plant in the state of Sao Paulo on 27th July. Construction of the plant is expected to be completed by June 2012. The new plant will increase the company's production capacity to 36,000t/y from the current 18,000t/y.

Jingcheng Copper, a Chinese brass mill, expects to increase capacity of copper sheet and strip from 90,000t/y to 120,000t/y through a new plant, which began construction in December 2009 and is expected to be operational in December 2011. Investment amounted to RMB495.0M. It was reported that the company produced 81,899t of copper products in 2010, up by 5.0% y-o-y and is targeting production of 82,500t in 2011, up by 0.8% y-o-y.

China headquartered, Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group Inc. has not yet broken ground at its proposed USD$100M copper pipe and tube plant in Thomasville, Alabama. The company was expected to begin construction of its first U.S. semis fabricating operation between July and August. The facility is planned to supply 100Mlbs/y of products to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning sector.