Local shipments of household electric appliances in Japan rose 3 percent year on year for fiscal year 2022, up for the first time in two years, industry data has shown.

For the fiscal year from April 2022 to March 2023, the shipments totaled nearly 2.59 trillion yen (19.30 billion U.S. dollars), according to the Japan Electrical Manufacturers’ Association (JEMA).

During the period, shipments of washing machines in the country saw a record high, the association noted.

The growth resulted from rising product prices due to increased raw material and transportation costs, the association said in a report released Thursday.

In March alone, domestic shipments of household appliances climbed 3.6 percent from a year earlier to 251.8 billion yen (1.88 billion U.S. dollars), marking the third successive month of increase, the data showed.

In breakdown, shipments of air conditioners and washing machines reported year-on-year increase in March, while that of refrigerators logged a drop for the second month.