Japan’s exports of copper wires and cables dropped by 62pc in Nov from a year ago, and domestic shipments dropped by 6.2pc on weaker demand from both international and domestic copper manufacturing industries.
Japan exported 815mt of copper wires and cables in Nov, down from 2,227mt exports in Nov last year however, exports in Dec are estimated to rise by 18.7pc to 2,100mt, from 1,769mt a year ago, according to Japan’s Electric Wire & Cable Makers’ Association (JCMA).
Japan’s domestic demand for copper wires and cables dropped from all the major industries. Shipments to electric power and machinery manufacturers dropped by 9.7pc and 11.6pc respectively, while shipments to construction and automotive sectors dropped by 3.8pc and 4.5pc respectively. Demand from the communication sector, however, remained healthy as shipments rose by 16.5pc in Nov from a year ago.
JCMA expects domestic shipments to the communication sector and to electric machinery producers to drop in Dec by 9.1pc and 6.8pc respectively, while the association expects domestic shipments to electric power producers, car manufacturers and the construction industry to rise marginally by 2.7pc, 0.6pc and 0.7pc respectively.
Japan shipped 58,956mt of copper wires and cables in Nov, down by 8.1pc from 64,161mt from a year ago. Total shipments are expected to rise to 56,600mt in Dec, up by 0.3pc from 56,743mt a year ago.