Thoughts on overseas procurement of construction products

According to the results of the Construction Works Execution Statistics Report published by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in March this year, the value of completed construction works as prime contractors was 70.5 trillion yen in 2000 (Heisei 12), but in 2008 (Heisei 20), it had fallen by 73.5% to 51.8 trillion yen. Looking at the change in the use of overseas products during that time, the data from the Japan Building Stone Industry Association shows that while the total area of architectural stone used has decreased to 57%, the proportion of overseas products in processed custom-made products has increased from 21% to 76%. In tandem with this, the number of large saws (equipment that processes raw stone into plates) in Japan, which was about 500, has dropped sharply to about 10. In addition, regarding aluminum curtain walls, although they are currently integrated into several domestic groups, the shift of production factories overseas is intensifying, and at the same time, unit curtain walls are being actively adopted for facade of large buildings, and the proportion of overseas products, including glass, is only increasing. One manufacturer says 60 percent of its custom aluminum curtain walls are manufactured overseas, and more than 90 percent of those products incorporate plate glass.

The advantage of using overseas products is that they are cheaper than domestic products. During the bubble economy, domestic manufacturers were unable to keep up with the huge demand for construction, and had no choice but to use overseas products, but recently the need to reduce costs has become clearer, and the use of overseas products has increased. Overseas manufacturers, whether Japanese or locally owned, have lower labor costs, land and corporate taxes than Japan, and they also have vast factory sites, making it possible to streamline production lines by introducing the latest factory equipment, and are therefore able to supply generally cheaper products. In the future, if import tariffs are relaxed due to the appreciation of the yen or the conclusion of FTAs (free trade agreements) between Japan and Southeast Asian countries, the use of overseas products will likely increase even more.

In recent years, the amount of completed construction works in Japan has remained flat for private orders, but public orders have been declining, and it is expected that the total amount of completed construction works will continue to decline in the future. On the other hand, the dependency on overseas construction products is increasing, and the adoption of domestic products is expected to decrease, but is there a problem with this situation? Japanese products have their own standards such as JIS, and a certain degree of product guarantee is given, but there are many overseas products that are not produced according to JIS standards, and they are often adopted under the name of VE (value engineering). Overseas manufacturers generally produce based on design specifications, and it seems that they often do not include after-sales services compared to domestic manufacturers. In addition, the adoption of overseas products needs to be comprehensively considered, including the production, transportation, and storage of the products. Recently, there have been cases where deliveries were delayed due to strikes by Chinese workers and domestic demonstrations in Thailand, and caution is required in the future. In this way, the current situation in which overseas and domestic products are accepted as if they were products of the same standard could be said to be harboring unexpected dangers.

The shift of construction products overseas is likely to further weaken domestic manufacturers. Isn't it time to think about maintaining international competitiveness in the field of manufacturing, such as the advanced processing of specialized products such as marble products and the passing on of construction techniques to future generations? After all, public buildings are built with domestic tax money. I don't think there is any need to hesitate to use products made by domestic manufacturers, who are taxpayers. What do you think?