Japan Copper-Cable Shipments Climb to Five-Year High in October

Japan's copper wire and cable shipments expanded 11 percent in October to the highest level in five years as demand from home and overseas markets increased, said an industry group.

Shipments totaled 66,400 metric tons last month, compared with 60,046 tons a year earlier, the Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Makers' Association said today in a statement, citing preliminary data. Deliveries were 59,969 tons in September, up 4 percent from a year earlier.

Japan's total exports grew 18.6 percent in October, exceeding the median estimate of 16.2 percent in a Bloomberg survey. The nation posted its biggest October trade deficit on record after costs for imported fuel surged in the wake of the nuclear industry's shutdown. Imports climbed 26.1 percent.

"The shipments were the highest since October 2008 as exports rose and demand from main domestic industries increased," said Keiichi Ohki, an official at the association's research department.

The yen's slide against the dollar has boosted profit forecasts of exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp. The Japanese currency has weakened 13 percent this year.

Copper wire and cable shipments to the construction industry climbed 13 percent, with deliveries to automakers up 12 percent and 11 percent higher to power companies, according to the statement. Exports jumped 25 percent, it said.

source wireworld