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Except for Table I-1, supplementary information and notes in parentheses related to product categories have been omitted for the purposes of this data summary.
Example: chests of drawers (excluding built-in types) = chests of drawers
I. Major Durable Goods Ownership
(1) Overview
Looking at consumer durable ownership quantities per 1,000 households (below, ?ownership quantities?) with two or more persons, room air-conditioners led with 2,347, followed by color TVs* (2,140), chests of drawers (1,875), cellular phones (1,823) and wardrobes (1,622), with ownership quantities of appliances and furniture items used for storage most common. Regarding the rates of increase/decrease in categories comparable with 1999, personal computers (106.0%), cellular phones (71.8%), facsimiles (54.6%) and other IT and communications consumer durables, along with toilet stool covers with warm water cleaners (47.5%), shampoo dressers (42.0%), and other equipment and devices had high increase rates. On the other hand, tables in Japanese style (-35.3%), stereo sets or CD/MD radio cassette recorders (-24.6%), solar water heaters (-20.7%), unit furniture (-20.4%), and motorcycles and scooters (-14.0%) had high decreasing rates. For ownership rates (the amount of households that owned relevant consumer durables), ownership rates were high for household durables such as vacuum cleaners (99.3%), washing machines (99.2%), refrigerators (99.0%), microwave ovens (97.4%), and color TVs (97.3%). (Figure I-1, Table I-1)
*Note: Excludes plasma and liquid crystal TV sets.
Plasma and liquid crystal TV sets have been assigned their own respective categories from the 2004 survey and unless otherwise noted, have not been grouped with ?color TVs? in 2004.
Figure I-1 Major Durable Goods Ownership Quantities, Ownership Rates and Rate of Ownership Quantities Increase/Decrease per 1,000 Households of Two or More Persons
Table I-1 Major Durable Goods Ownership Quantities, Rate of Increase/Decrease and Ownership Rates per 1,000 Households of Two or More Persons
Table I-1 Major Durable Goods Ownership Quantities, Rate of Increase/Decrease and Ownership Rates per 1,000 Households of Two or More Persons (Continued)
(2) IT and communications-related consumer durables
Cellular phone ownership quantities increased 71.8%, from 1,061 units (64.9% ownership rates) in 1999 to 1,823 (84.7%) in 2004, while personal computer ownership increased 106.0%, from 485 (37.7%) in 1999 to 999 (69.3%) in 2004, substantial increases for both. Ownership quantities were 282 units for DVD recorders, newly added in the 2004 survey, and their ownership rate was 25.6%. (Figure I-2)
Figure I-2 IT and Communications-Related Consumer Durable Ownership Quantities Trends per 1,000 Households of Two or More Persons
(3) Cars
Car ownership quantities were 1,446 (86.2% ownership rate). In terms of type, it was 1,392 home manufactured cars and 54 imported cars. In terms of the engine displacement, it came to 715 small cars (661-2000 cc displacement), 389 light cars (660 cc and under), and 288 ordinary cars (2001 cc and over).
Ownership quantities increased by 3.5% compared to 1999 (1,397 car ownership quantities, 84.9% ownership rate) and, seen by type of home manufactured cars, ownership quantities of small cars decreased, while light car, ordinary car and imported car ownership quantities increased in 2004. (Figure I-3)
Figure I-3 Car Ownership Quantities Trends per 1,000 Households of Two or More Persons
(4) Multiple consumer durable ownership
Room air-conditioner ownership quantities were highest at 2,347 units and seen by the number of units owned per household, 23.0% of households owned one unit and 22.8% owned two, respective 4.3 and 0.7-point decreases compared to 1999. In contrast, 41.1% of households owned three or more, a 7.6-point increase. The largest amount in the 2004 survey was the 23.2% of households that owned four or more.
Regarding the number of cars owned per household, 44.6% owned one, a 1.0-point drop compared to 1999. In contrast, 29.1% owned two and 12.5% owned three, respective 1.6 and 0.8-point increases, and the number of households owning more than one car has increased. (Figure I-4)
Figure I-4 Trends in Room Air-Conditioner and Car Ownership Numbers Among Households of Two or More Persons
II. Major Durable Goods Ownership by Characterisics of Households
