Japan is facing several months of falling exports after reporting a 2% fall in shipments in March yesterday.
The fall was concentrated in the last 20 days of the month after the quake and tsunami hit on March 11 and the Fukushima nuclear crisis emerged.
The country’s Finance Ministry said the fall in exports and a sharp rise in imports saw the trade surplus plunge nearly 80% in the month to 196.5 billion yen ($US2.37 billion).
But it was the second straight monthly trade surplus after the deficit in January.
Exports fell 2.2% to 5.86 trillion yen as shipments of cars fell and imports rose 11.9% to 5.66 trillion yen as the cost of commodity imports, especially oil, coal and iron ore rose.
The fall was led by vehicle exports, which fell by 27.8% after Japan’s leading automakers were forced to halt production because of a shortage of parts.
Exports of electronic devices such as semiconductors dropped more than 6%.
The value of oil imports rose 14.8%, the value of iron ore imports surged 74.9% and the value of coal imports also rose 39.4%.
Japanese exports to the US fell 3.4%, but shipments to China climbed 3.8% and exports to the European Union rose 4.3%.
For the Japanese fiscal 2010 (ending March 31) Japan’s trade surplus grew 3.9% 5.39 trillion yen, with exports up 14.9% to 67.79 trillion yen and imports up 15.9% to 62.40 trillion yen.
News of the small fall in exports saw analysts and Japanese industry leaders warn that the country faces several months where exports will be lower again.
Already there are forecasts that April will see a much bigger fall.
At a Tokyo news conference Shoei Utsuda (chairman of Mitsui and Co and chairman of Japan Foreign Trade Council), said the sharp decline in the March trade surplus means the fall will probably be much greater in April.
At the same time, there are reports that Japanese manufacturers have begun cutting production at their plants in Thailand.
An estimated 8,000 Japanese companies have manufacturing bases in Thailand (to take advantage of free trade agreements that the country and Asean has with many other countries, such as Australia).
But orders from Japan have dropped since the disaster, and there have been delays in parts procurement due to supply chain disruptions in Japan.
Honda Motor cut local production by more than half on Tuesday, citing problems obtaining some electronic parts and engine components and Toyota has been adjusting output by stopping overtime work for the past five weeks.
Sharp Corporation, which had been manufacturing about 9,000 copying machines per month in Thailand, cut production by about 20%, according to reports in the Japanese business media.
News of the fall in exports came a day after a survey of Japanese consumer confidence showed an expected big fall.
The household sentiment index dropped to 38.6 in March from 41.2 in February, according to seasonally adjusted figures released by the Cabinet Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
The report echoed the result of the merchant sentiment report from April 8, which showed confidence slumped at the fastest pace on record since the Cabinet Office began that survey in 2000.
And finally, why Japanese companies still have what it takes to succeed.
Tokyo media reports say electronics maker Toshiba has developed a TV set with a rechargeable battery to help viewers cope with expected power outages in and round the Kanto area this summer.
The government plans to ask households to reduce electricity consumption by 15% to 20% on weekdays between 10am and 9pm, because the Fukushima crisis and damage to other nuclear plants has cut power supplies.
The new TV recharges itself when it is turned off at night and can be used for 3 hours when the battery is fully charged.
Viewers can switch from a household outlet to the internal battery by using the remote control.
Toshiba is already selling rechargeable TVs in other parts of Asia, where blackouts occur frequently.
The new TV has a 19-inch screen and will be priced at around $US480 to $US600 dollars, about $US120 dollars more than a conventional model.
The TV will hit the market in July and will be mainly sold in the Tokyo area, where most of the power outages are expected.
