According to the statistics compiled by Japan Industrial Gases and Medical Gas Company (JIMGA), total volume of gaseous hydrogen (GH2) shipped in 2013 came to around 91 million m3, down by 10.3% over the previous year. This was the first for a long time that the volume fell below 100 million.

Electronic industry in Japan has been sluggish and the rationalization in production among major electronic manufacturers has been significant, causing depression in the demand for gaseous hydrogen.

In terms of area of application, volume of hydrogen shipped for use with appliances came to 29.63 million m3, down by 13.7% from the previous year. For use with chemical, the volume also decreased by 18.9%, coming to 13.64 million m3, while for use with glass down by 16.8%, coming to 7.93 million m3, showing a large decrease. On the other hand, for use with metal processing, the volume slightly decreased by 0.4%.