According to statistics from the Japan Welding Material Association,shipments of welding materials in fiscal 2021 increased 5.1% year on year to 214,764 t.Of that,wire for gas-shielded welding increased 6.2% to 162,653 t.Shipments by type included a 15.9% increase year on year in solid wire,a 5.7% increase in TIG wire,and a 3.7% decrease in flux-cored wire.Concerning the sales trends for the year,a welding materials producer gave an analysis,saying,"Compared with 2020,the impact of the spread of Covid-19 infections softened,but in terms of pre-pandemic levels(180,000 to 200,000 t),the recovery is not complete and conditions continue to be strict.The only users who had favorable conditions were in the steel construction frames area due to the start of development construction centered in city centers,which produced an increase in demand for solid wire and TIG wire.On the supply side,the increasing cost of secondary materials and transportation forced welding material producers to increase product prices in order to maintain stable supply,and this is seen as a factor in the market stagnation.
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