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Electrodeposited copper foil manufacturers in Japan are to increase purchasing of copper scrap in May. Some dealers have already agreed to supply the increased quantity, however, scrap generation remains low due to the ongoing industrial and building construction slowdown. It has been reported that since the beginning of the year, Japanese copper foil makers have cut their copper scrap procurement by 50%. According to the new plans, copper foil producers intend to double copper scrap buying compared to January-April.

Furukawa Electric announced that it will triple its output capacity for copper foil used in lithium ion batteries to 1,500t per month in 2013. The company will build a new factory with monthly capacity of 500t of foil in the western Taiwanese county of Yunlin. Investment will amount to 6.9bn yen and production is expected to begin in September 2012, gradually being brought up to speed by July 2013. Furukawa Electric has a factory nearby that makes copper foil for circuit boards, and therefore it will be able to procure supplies for both. In addition, the company said that electric power costs in Taiwan are half as expensive compared to Japan, and that will make it competitive in the growing segment of automotive lithium ion batteries. Furukawa Electric will consider exporting foil for lithium ion batteries from Taiwan to China, South Korea and elsewhere. Furthermore, 100ml yen will be spent in order to revamp spare equipment at the existing copper foil factory in Nikko, Japan. That will enable the plant to raise capacity by 80% to 1,000t per month by March 2012.

According to Antaike, Nanya Copper Foil Co. Ltd., a Chinese copper Foil fabricator, intends to expand its electrolytic copper Foil capacity from 34,000t/y to 45,900t/y with the construction of a new plant located in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, which is due to start operations in September 2011. Antaike anticipates that the company's combined copper Foil capacity will be the largest in China.

It was reported that Jiangxi Copper Corporation (JCC) Copper Foil and Jiangxi University of Science and Technology developed an ultra-thin copper Foil with thickness of 1 to 5 microns. This ultra-thin Foil is mainly aimed for high-density printing circuit boards, but has a wider application in other end-uses as well. JCC Copper Foil is entirely owned by JCC and after applying this technology intends to proceed to large-scale production of copper Foil.

Furukawa Electric announced that it will commission a new electrolytic copper foil factory, located in Taiwan, two months ahead of schedule, in July 2012. The facility is designed to produce copper foil suitable for the manufacture of lithium ion batteries. Furukawa decided to offshore the foil production capacity last year because the appreciated yen had been limiting its competitiveness in supplying the high growth automotive lithium-ion battery market in Taiwan. The company expects to halve its electricity costs in Taiwan, which represent 30% of the total cost of electrolytic foil production in Japan. Furthermore, it is feared that these costs in Japan are likely to escalate with the ongoing strain on power generation and transmission suppliers. This was caused by the continuing temporary closure of nuclear power facilities as it reviews its position on the use of nuclear power generation.

Japan's Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co Ltd will invest 500 million ringgit to build a new plant for making copper foils in Malaysia, a newspaper reported on Friday. The new plant, specialising in high-productivity 12-micron and thinner copper foils, will have a production capacity of 1,200 tonnes a month once fully operational, the Business Times said. Construction work on first phase of the plant, with a capacity of 700 tonnes a month, will begin in November and will be completed by June 2010, it quoted Masayuki Misawa, managing director of Mitsui Copper foil Sdn Bhd, in which the Japanese firm is a stakeholder, as saying. Work on the 500-tonne a month second phase will start immediately after that, he said. The new plant is being constructed in Shah Alam, next to an existing facility of the company which has a monthly production capacity of 1,600 tonnes.

It was reported that Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. is considering a partial shift of its electrodeposited copper foil output from Saitama Prefecture to an overseas facility. The company is attempting to reconcile concerns over the possibility of further power shortages affecting their production in Japan and the risk of overseas technology leaks. Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. is a leading ED copper foil producer and a major supplier of copper foil for smartphones.

Fujikura Ltd, the Japanese wire and cable manufacturer, announced on 4th February that it will cut 300 staff as part of an effort to restructure its business units. The company said it will reorganise its business into three units; energies/telecoms, electronics and automotive electronic components. The company also said that it will seek to consolidate its Japanese business in 2013 by cutting staff, whilst reinforcing its automotive components businesses and growing its overseas businesses. Fujikura Ltd announced that it is revising down its estimates for 2012 operating revenue by JPY1B (USD10.8M) to JPY7B(USD75.5M).

Furukawa Electric Co. announced recently that it has closed its Tochigi-based Imaichi No.1 copper foil plant. The operation, which had been producing electrolytic copper foil for use in circuit boards in the electronics industry, will be moved to Taiwan to reduce costs. The company cited reduced profitability and rising electricity prices as reasons for the decision. The company also announced it will shut most of its operations at its Imaichi No. 2 plant by the end of September.

Mitsui Mining and Smelting (MMS) aims to expand its market share in Asia from 50% to 70% for electrolytic copper foil product. The company has recently doubled its electrolytic copper foil production capacity at its two subsidiaries which now have production capacity of more than 600t/m. MMS also expanded its output capacity of ultra thin copper foil with carrier foil from 300,000 square meters per month to 450,000 square meters per month in August 2007. The company is still exploring further expansion possibilities which will depend on how the market reacts.

The State Administration of Taxation in China announced that it will increase its export tax rebates on copper foil, plate and tube from 1st April. The policy was announced on 27th March and it aims to boost Chinese exports. Copper plate's export tax rebate will rise from 5% to 9%, copper foil's from 5% to 13%, and copper tube's from 9% to 13%. It is expected that the measure will support the copper semis market.

It was reported that Furukawa Electric plans to bring forward its capacity expansion plans for electrolytic copper foil due to steady demand from lithium ion battery makers, especially for electric vehicles. The company had previously announced that domestic capacity would expand from 550t/m to 1,000t/m in March 2012. However, supported by increasing demand from EV battery makers, Furukawa will put the time schedule ahead to December 2011. In addition, the company is planning to accelerate the time schedule for its new electrolytic copper foil plant in Taiwan, which was originally due to commence operations in September 2012.

Tianjin Chuangxinyuan Investment Co. Ltd. has announced plans to invest RMB613M in the development of a high-precision copper strip and foil project in Tianjin. Upon completion, the project will have a production capacity of 10,000t/y of high precision copper foil and strip. The project is expected to generate a turnover of RMB600M/y. Trial production will take place in October of this year, following the installation of two production lines with a combined capacity of 2400t/y. Tianjin Chuangxinyuan Investment will become China's biggest producer of copper strip and foil upon the project's completion.

An opening ceremony was held to mark an agreement to build a new 150,000t/y copper semis facility in the Jinchao Economic and Development Zone, Fuzhou City, Jiangxi Province. Construction is expected to commence this month, in September 2012. The operation, which is a joint venture between Hong Kong Huakun International Co. Ltd. and Zheiang Tangmen Metal Structure Co. Ltd., will be capable of producing 100,000t/y of copper flat rolled products and 50,000t/y of copper foil.

Recent weakening copper prices does not necessarily mean that copper foil makers will have a potential price revision in the following months, as electricity costs are going to rise in October, said industry players.

Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co. decided to return its electrolytic copper foil production to normal at its Ageo, Saitama plant. The facility currently operates on Saturdays and Sundays and plans to be operational around the clock in a few days. The decision of the company follows an announcement by Tokyo Electric Power Company to call-off power outages. In addition, Furukawa Electric Co. intends to resume production of copper foil for batteries at its plant in Nikko, Tochigi, after the Golden Week holidays in May.

It was reported that China's Amer International expects to complete construction of its new 250,000t/y copper rod production line, located in its Chaohu City facility in Anhui Province, by year-end. The expansion project will bring Amer's production capacity to 500,000t/y and its total copper rod production is anticipated to reach 200,000t in 2011. A spokesperson for the company said that it will manufacture rod for both domestic and foreign export markets. In addition, Amer also intends to source copper cathode for rod-processing from within China and also overseas. Total investment for the project amounted to RMB2.5B.

Southwire, the US-based aluminium and copper cablemaker, has said that while the use of copper in most electrical applications is unlikely to change, some manufacturers are likely to move toward the use of aluminium wire. The auto industry is increasingly using aluminium wire for traditional copper applications. This is occurring most predominantly outside of the US, however domestic autos companies have also been using aluminium wire for battery cable and aluminium wire harnesses for lights. Southwire stated that for most electrical applications copper usage will remain dominant because of its overall reliability.

Guangzhou Jiangtong Copper products, a subsidiary of Jiangxi Copper, announced that it began trial production at its new 400,000t/y copper wirerod plant this week. The company expects to supply nearby consumers in southern China as well as those in foreign markets in Southeast Asia. Capital investment expenditure totalled RMB2.0B.