Exports have continued to increase due to the expansion of overseas economies. Business fixed investment has also continued to increase against the background of high corporate profits and favorable business sentiment. The positive influence of the strength in the corporate sector has been feeding through into the household sector.
While firms have been increasingly feeling a shortage of labor, the number of employees has been increasing steadily and wages have also been rising gradually. In this situation, private consumption has been on an increasing trend. With the rise in demand both at home and abroad, production has been increasing, and inventories have been more or less in balance with shipments.