Japan’s PM industry makes gains in 2012
April 16, 2013
Japan’s ferrous PM industry reported a 3.6% gain in production in 2012 to reach 96,979 mt, whilst copper-based PM products showed a more substantial gain to 4,427 mt from 3,567 mt in 2011. The combined total of 101,406 mt amounted to a 4.4% gain over 2011.
The Japan Powder Metallurgy Association (JPMA) reports that production value (in Japanese Yen) for structural PM parts also rose slightly in 2012 but was still substantially below the peak reached in 2007 (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 Production trend of structural PM parts in Japan (source: Japan Powder Metallurgy Association).
Around 92% of all structural PM parts produced by Japan’s 63 PM producers find applications in the automotive sector with the average Japanese car containing 9.2 kg of PM parts (2011).
PM self-lubricating bearing production in Japan was relatively flat in 2012 reports the JPMA. The breakdown of PM parts and PM bearings applications in vehicles in 2011 is shown in Fig. 2
Fig. 2 Breakdown of structural PM parts and PM bearings applications in automobiles in Japan – left: structural parts, right: PM bearings (source: Japan Powder Metallurgy Association).
Posted by: Paul Whittaker, Editor ipmd.net, [email protected]
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