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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.

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.

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.

The US-based Copper and Brass Servicenter Association, a trade group representing primarily North American brass mills, reported that shipments of brass mills products amounted to 19.68Mlb (8,927t) in September, a decline of 14.9% from August and an annual decline of 8.1%. Shipments of copper sheet fell by 21.7% m-o-m or 961,000lb to 3.45Mlb (436t to 1,565t) and copper rod declined by 14.4% m-o-m or 807,000lb to 4.77Mlb (366t to 2,164t). Shipments of brass sheet and alloy tube also registered declines in September compared to the previous month, 6.9% m-o-m and 37.4% m-o-m respectively. The survey reported that half of participants expected orders to fall in the coming quarter compared to the previous quarter. When asked about lead times, half of the suppliers surveyed reported that their lead times had shortened in September compared to the previous three months.

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 survey conducted by the Copper & Brass Servicenter Association, a US-based trade group, US servicenter shipments of copper and brass products amounted to 22.7Mlbs (10,297t) in April, down by 7.0% m-o-m and down by 0.9% y-o-y. The m-o-m decline was largely attributed to weaker demand for 300-series brass rod and bar, as shipments declined by 9.9%, reaching 5.2Mlbs. Servicenters enjoyed a good Q1 as shipment levels rose to reach 72.7Mlbs (32,736t), up by 4.2% y-o-y, with the peak of the quarter occurring in March, just as it did in 2011. Over 50% of servicecenters surveyed believed that incoming orders will stay at the same level in June-August 2012 as they were in March-May 2012.

The Copper and Brass Servicenter Association reported that shipments of brass mill products amounted to 20.24Mlbs in May 2011, up by 0.4% on the previous month and down 11.3% y-o-y. This comes after a 13% fall in April from 25Mlbs in March, which was the peak that service centers experienced in Q1. Industry sources attributed the flattening in shipment levels in May to a decline in general consumer activity, also indicated by the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index falling from 60.4 to 53.5. In addition, it was reported that US brass mills are expecting lead times to narrow or flatten during Q3. Lead times are currently two to five weeks, having previously lengthened in early Q2. Lead times tend to be longer when consumer and service center demand is weak.

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.

Sumiden Hitachi Cable said it forecasts Japanese electric cable makers' shipments of VVF (vinyl insulated vinyl sheathed flat-type) cable will total an average of 4,500-4,700 tonnes per month in copper weight in fiscal 2012 ending in March 2013. This would be an increase of around10%. However, if the reconstruction works in disaster areas affected by the Japanese earthquake were delayed, the monthly shipment forecasts could show a slight fall. Sumiden Hitachi Cable is the largest sales company of building cables and wires in Japan and is jointly controlled by Hitachi Cable, Sumitomo Electric Industries and Tatsuta Electric Wire & Cable. Sumiden Hitachi Cable is the third largest supplier of VVF cable in Japan.

The Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Maker's Association has announced that electric wire shipments in fiscal 2011 increased by 0.3% in total from the previous year to 685,020 tons. The year-on-year increase in shipment levels for a second consecutive year was despite the impact of the earthquake. Although those for electricity and electric machinery fell below the previous year's level, those for construction/building and automobiles recovered to increase the total figures and those for communication increased by 6.1% year-on-year to 15,728 tons. The figures for electric wire shipments for electricity declined by 13.2% year-on-year to 61,247 tons and fell significantly below the previous year's figures as electric power companies decreased capital investments in the aftermath of the earthquake. On a monthly basis, they also declined in almost all months.

Japan's largest company of building wires and cables, Sumiden Hitachi Cable, which is jointly controlled by Hitachi Cable, Sumitomo Electric Industries and Tatsuta Electric Wire & Cable, says it plans for its sales volume in copper to increase slightly year-on-year for first half of fiscal 2012 beginning in April. The firm forecasts that domestic demand for its three major items, the largest being low voltage XLPE cable, would remain steady y-o-y at around a monthly average volume of 14,500t of copper Sumiden Hitachi Cable estimated that Japanese demand for its three major products increased by 6%y-o-y in H2 2011 to average 15,800t in copper per month. Building wire and cable shipments remained steady for large building projects situated mainly in Tokyo while shipments increased by 20% y-o-y in the Tohoku area as a result of the restorations being undertaken following the earthquake last year. The shipment levels were also boosted by active public facilities construction towards the end of the Japanese major fiscal year in March. Forecasts suggest that in H1 F2012, total demand and shipments would level off as construction projects and restorations following the earthquake would begin to tail off.

Copper and Brass Servicenter Association (CBSA) reported shipments increased by 1.5% month-on-month in July. The association said the increase was a surprise as July shipments historically follow the trend of the previous month. In July, copper and copper alloy shipments decreased by 2.8% year-on-year while average daily shipping rate went down by 7.2%. Total warehouse inventories dropped by 2.8%. The association also said that it is getting more difficult to search for 'positive economic news' as the months go by.

According to data released by the Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers' Association, wire and cable shipments in Japan amounted to an estimated 50,100t in August compared to 58,032t in July. On a y-o-y basis, that was a decline of 17.7%. While there are signs that market demand is improving, the figure indicates that the widely expected economic recovery is not solid yet.

The Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers' Association said that copper wire and cable shipments increased by 4.9% y-o-y to 56,600t in January 2011. The association commented that although deliveries to the automotive sector were weak, those to the electric machinery sector were steady. In addition, shipments to the construction industry were steady too as they have hit the bottom. Shipments in January 2011 were the third lowest in the last 35 years after 2010 and 2009.

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 data from the Copper and Brass Servicenter (CBSA), shipments from US brass and copper mills fell 8.6% m-o-m in November, to 20.5Mlb (9,300t). The organisation said that total shipments in the first 11 months of the year were broadly unchanged from 2011, at 244.8Mlb (111,000t). A breakdown of the figures reveals that copper sheet and copper wirerod saw the smallest declines in the month, -5.2% m-o-m and -5.3% m-o-m respectively, whilst brass sheet was the worst performing sector recording an output drop of 11.7% m-o-m. In a survey released with the data, 83% of respondents said they expected orders to increase in the coming 3 months.

Japan's domestic shipments of residential air conditioners rose 12 percent in March from a year earlier to 678,736 units, the Japan Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association said.

Shipments of copper wire and cable increased to 59,400 in February, up 2.5% y-o-y. The figure is also up 6.1% on January shipments which totalled 56,002t.

The Japan Electric Wire and Cable Makers' Association reported that domestic shipments of copper wire and cable in Japan declined by 0.4% in November to reach 60,400t, which represents the second-lowest monthly level in the past 35 years. Demand from carmakers and construction remained firm but orders from electric power companies fell by 17.6% y-o-y to 5,400t in November.