issue: September 2009 APPLIANCE Magazine International Report: Japan Shipment Statistics: Japan’s Refrigeration Industry in 2008	Share  Printable format  Email this Article  Search
 The global economic crisis kicked in too late to severely impact unit 2008 shipments.

Data compiled by JRAIA, the Japan Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association, based on statistics from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), show mixed results for calendar year 2008 industry unit shipments of air-conditioners and refrigeration appliances.

Shipments of residential air-conditioners rose 4.86%, from 7,390,038 units in 2007 to 7,749,477 units in 2008. This category includes both cooling-only units and units that cool and heat. (NOTE: Cooling and heating air-conditioners are those units that heat using heat-pump methods. In Japan, these units are categorized as air-conditioners along with cooling-only units.)

The residential heat pump water heaters category has been tracked only since 2003, when only about 72,000 units were shipped. After three years of better than 60% growth annually, shipment increases slowed, but 2007 growth was still about 24%. Shipments were 494,904 in 2008, compared with 398,981 in 2007, giving the category, once again, a growth rate of 24%.

Shipments of commercial air-conditioners overall were down slightly, from 752,911 units in 2007 to 743,955 units in 2008, for a decrease of 1.19%. The cooling-only sub-segment showed a more substantial percentage decrease, from 49,459 units in 2007 to 47,121 units in 2008. The much larger sub-segment of commercial air-conditioners with both cooling and heating dropped from 703,452 units in 2007 to 696,834 units in 2008, for a decrease of 0.94%.

METI’s commercial air-conditioner segment includes packaged air-conditioners designed primarily for offices and shops. The category encompasses medium- and large-sized split-type, single packaged type, and remote condenser type. The category also includes multi-splits for commercial building use. Engine-driven units are not included.

Shipments of commercial refrigerated cabinets have been decreasing steadily for more than a decade. Shipments were down 5.16%, from 265,208 units in 2007 to 251,530 in 2008. Two types of commercial cabinets are tracked. Shipments of self-contained units fell 3.41% from 168,590 in 2007 to 163,849 in 2008. Shipments of remote condensing type units fell 8.21%, from 96,618 units in 2007 to 88,681 units in 2008.