Japan’s first half 2016 wooden office furniture (HS 940330) imports were down around 10% from the first half in 2015, reflecting the continued weak business climate in the country.
On the other hand, both kitchen and bedroom furniture imports started to increase, as compared to 2015. Wooden kitchen furniture (HS940340) imports in the first half of 2016 rose 6%, while imports of wooden bedroom furniture (HS940350) in the first half of 2016 were up marginally (2%) from the same period of 2015.
Office furniture imports
Year on year, imports of office furniture in June 2016 were down a massive 28% compared to the previous month.
From the highs in January this year, Japan’s imports of wooden office furniture have consistently fallen. Business confidence and a lack of private sector investment by Japanese enterprises has dampened demand for furniture.
In June the top suppliers of wooden office furniture to Japan (China, Portugal and Taiwan P.o.C) saw a drop in sales. Japan’s imports of wooden office furniture from China fell 26% in June as compared to May. The imports from Portugal were down 87% and the imports from Taiwan P.o.C fell 63% month on month.
Imports May 2016
Unit 1,000 Yen
S. Korea -
China 101077
Taiwan P.o.C 5170
Hong Kong -
Vietnam 203
Thailand 218
Singapore 687
Malaysia 4379
Philippines -
Indonesia 3848
Sweden -
Denmark -
UK -
Netherlands -
Belgium -
France -
Germany 1857
Switzerland -
Portugal 5689
Italy 5862
Finland -
Poland 6134
Hungary -
Lithuania 635
Czech Rep. -
Slovakia 3003
Canada -
USA 1672
New Zealand -
Total 140434
Kitchen furniture imports (HS 940340)
In contrast to the sharp fall in Japan’s imports of office furniture, imports of wooden kitchen furniture in June were up 4% year on year and up 8% month on month.
Imports, May 2016
Unit 1,000 Yen
S. Korea -
China 113446
Taiwan P.o.C 2340
Vietnam 500084
Thailand 9936
Malaysia 15829
Philippines 352361
Indonesia 129473
India -
Afghanistan 759
Denmark -
UK 379
France 810
Germany 30452
Spain 533
Italy 9069
Poland -
Austria -
Romania 1082
Slovenia -
Canada 3820
USA 4806
Total 1175179
Shippers in Vietnam continue to dominate Japan’s imports of wooden kitchen furniture alone, accounting for 36% of all Japan’s wooden kitchen furniture imports.
The Philippines was the second largest supplier in June accounting for a further 29%. When shipments from China are included the top three suppliers accounted for more than three quarters of Japan’s wooden kitchen furniture imports in June.
Bedroom furniture imports (HS 940350)
Once again, there was almost no change in the value of Japan’s June wooden bedroom furniture imports. For the past three months the value of imports has been stuck in a narrow range.
Imports, May 2016
Unit 1,000 Yen
S. Korea -
China 1138133
Taiwan P.o.C 12971
Vietnam 579103
Thailand 90236
Malaysia 55127
Philippines 2399
Indonesia 8018
Cambodia -
Pakistan -
Sri Lanka 257
Sweden 2289
Denmark 3755
UK -
Netherlands -
Belgium -
France -
Germany -
Switzerland -
Spain 460
Italy 6815
Poland 51833
Russia 6320
Austria 1860
Romania 15824
Turkey -
Estonia 2243
Latvia -
Lithuania 6101
Croatia -
Bosnia/Herzegovina -
Slovakia -
Canada -
USA 1104
Mexico 538
Australia -
Total 1985386
Year on year, June 2016 imports of wooden bedroom furniture were up 5% but compared to May June imports were down 1.5%.
China was the main source of Japan’s imports of wooden bedroom furniture accounting for 57% of all imports of this category of furniture. The other main supplier in June was Vietnam (29% share of imports) then followed Thailand (4.5%) and Malaysia (2.7%).
Suppliers in Europe accounted for a combined 5% of Japan’s wooden bedroom furniture imports with Poland being the main supplier accounting for just over half of all shipments from Europe.
Source: ITTO
