Japan’s Copper Cable Shipments Increase 2.9% in July

Tuesday, Aug 24, 2010

Japan’s copper wire and cable shipments climbed 2.9 percent in July from a year earlier, gaining for the seventh straight month, as the country’s export- led economy grew.

Shipments, including exports and domestic business, increased to 59,700 metric tons last month, from 58,032 tons a year earlier, the Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers’ Association said today in an e-mailed statement. Shipments totaled 56,668 tons in June.

Prices of copper, used in pipes and wires, rose 13 percent in the past year. Japan’s copper cable shipments for the auto sector gained 11 percent in July from a year earlier and 24 percent for the electronics industry, the industry group said. Vehicle exports rose 38.6 percent in June from a year ago, according to data from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers association.

“The outlook remains uncertain” as the July data was the smallest monthly gain since February, said Nobuyuki Goto, deputy general manager at the association’s research department.

Shipments for the construction sector declined 3.6 percent in July from a year earlier, falling for the 22nd straight month, he said.

Second-quarter GDP growth was Japan’s weakest in three quarters, adding pressure on policy makers to safeguard the recovery by expanding fiscal spending and loosening monetary policy to weaken the yen.

Japan’s recovery from the recession has been hamstrung by the yen’s climb to a 15-year high against the dollar, threatening profits at exporters including Honda Motor Co. and Sony Corp.

Source: Bloomberg