Japan’s Copper Cable Shipments Climb for Fifth Month

Wednesday, Jun 23, 2010

Japan’s copper wire and cable shipments climbed 11 percent in May from a year earlier, gaining for the fifth straight month, as the country’s export- led economy grew.

Shipments, including exports and domestic business, increased to 49,700 metric tons last month, from 44,767 tons a year earlier, the Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers’ Association said today in an e-mailed statement. Shipments totaled 56,200 tons in April.

Copper, used in pipes, tubes and wires, has risen 37 percent in the past year as stimulus measures helped the global economy recover from recession and bolster demand. Japan last week raised its assessment of the economy for the first time in three months amid signs the nation’s recovery is sustainable.

Most consuming sectors, excluding the construction and electrical appliances industries, were showing “a gradual recovery,” said Nobuyuki Goto, deputy general manager at the association’s research department. The construction and electrical appliances sectors are the biggest consumers for wire and cable.

Shipments to the construction and electrical appliances sector fell 3.4 percent from a year earlier to 18,500 tons in May, declining for the 20th straight month, the association said. That was the lowest level for May for the two industries since 1982, the association said.

A rebound in exports and production have helped the world’s second-largest economy extend its recovery from recession even as Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis clouds the outlook for global growth. The rebound will continue on improvements in economies abroad as well as boosts from domestic stimulus measures, the Cabinet Office said in a monthly report on June 18.

 

Source: Business Week