Analysis on Export of Fastener Industry in Japan in 2010

According to foreign reports, according to statistics released by the Japan Ministry of Finance on fastener trade from January to November 2010, the export of Japanese fasteners is gradually picking up. Among them, the export volume of fasteners in November increased by 9.1% from the same period of 2009 to 26,392 tons, and the export value increased by 6.7% year-on-year to 20.136 billion yen. From January to November 2010, Japan’s fastener exports totaled 293,445 tons, an increase of 42.6% year-on-year, and total exports were 232.08 billion yen, an increase of 36.0% year-on-year.

In the first half of 2010, Japan’s fastener exports recovered well, with a total export volume of 156,206 tons, an 81.1% increase over the same period of 2009, and a total export volume of 125.58 billion yen, a year-on-year increase of 69.2%. In contrast, in the second half of 2010 (July-November), the growth rate of Japanese fastener exports slowed down, with total exports of 137,238 tons, a year-on-year increase of 14.8%, and total exports of 1065.2 billion yen, a year-on-year increase. 10.5%. This was mainly due to the rapid appreciation of the yen in August. According to the types of fasteners, among the 16 types of fastener export products, only other products with screws have decreased compared with the same period of last year, while the exports of major fasteners such as bolts and nuts have all increased.

From the perspective of export countries and regions, Japan’s export of fasteners in 2010 is still China, followed by the United States, which is basically the same as in 2009. However, fasteners exported to Thailand in 2010 soared rapidly and exceeded Europe, ranking third.

From January to November 2010, the total number of fasteners exported from Japan to China reached 73,576 tons, an increase of 33.7% year-on-year, and total exports were 59.46 billion yen, an increase of 30.3% year-on-year. However, in 2010, Japan’s fasteners exported to China accounted for 25.1% of its total exports, and exports accounted for 25.8% of total exports, which was a drop from 26.8% and 27.0% in the same period of 2009. This is mainly due to the increase in Japan’s exports to other countries and regions. Even so, Japan’s fasteners exported to China still account for a quarter of Japan’s total fastener exports, and China has always been the largest exporter of fasteners in Japan.

According to Japan's Ministry of Finance's trade statistics, the import and export volume of fasteners in Japan fell by 40% and 29.4% year-on-year in 2009, and they were 53.3 billion yen and 1.919 billion yen respectively.

Japan's fastener magazine "Fastening Journal," the female president of the House Hui said that in 2009 many Japanese fastener manufacturers sales fell by 50%, and even individual company sales fell by 90% straight line, the loss is very heavy. In the industrial market, construction fasteners have dropped by 60%.

“At the beginning of 2010, Japanese fasteners began to show signs of recovery,” said Gui Hui, adding that in the first half of the year fastener sales in Japan had returned to 80% before the crisis. According to Japan's financial and trade statistics, Japan’s fastener imports amounted to 5.4 billion yen in April 2010, an increase of 21.3% year-on-year. In May, exports were 18.8 billion yen, a year-on-year increase of 39.5%. The main importers and exporters are still China, the United States, and Thailand.

Guihui also pointed out that in addition to the current recovery in performance, Japanese fastener manufacturers are also paying attention to another issue, which is to increase the price of fasteners. In fact, before the financial crisis, Japanese fastener manufacturers were very optimistic about the future situation, when fastener sales increased by 20% year-on-year. Now that the situation has improved, major manufacturers have begun to rethink the issue of price increases for fastener products.