Japan Aluminum Shipments Drop at Slower Pace in May

By Aya Takada

June 26 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s shipments of aluminum rolled products dropped at a slower pace in May than in April as demand from beverage can producers and carmakers increased on month.

Supplies to the domestic and export markets declined 30 percent to 138,503 metric tons from 196,842 tons a year earlier, the Japan Aluminium Association said in a statement today. The pace of decrease slowed for a third month after starting to drop in October. Shipments plunged 39 percent in February, the worst slump in 34 years, tumbled 36 percent in March and fell 31 percent in April.

Japan’s government and central bank raised their assessments of the economy for a second month in June after industrial output advanced at the fastest pace in 56 years and exports improved. Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said June 16 he is “cautious” about the rebound because renewed demand may only be temporary.

“Shipments in May were supported by good sales to can makers and improvement in demand from the auto sector,” Koji Iida, an association spokesman, said in Tokyo today.

Shipments to the car industry dropped 50 percent from a year earlier to 13,024 tons in May as the pace of contraction moderated for a second month. The volume increased 23 percent from April, when shipments fell 62 percent to 10,590 tons.

Demand from can producers, the largest consumers of aluminum rolled products in Japan, climbed 4.5 percent to 42,065 tons in May from a year earlier as individuals stayed at home and drank more beer and other canned beverages amid the recession, Iida said.

Members of the Japan Aluminium Association include Furukawa-Sky Aluminum Corp., Kobe Steel Ltd. and Nippon Light Metal Co. Details of output, shipments and inventories for May are as follow:

==============================================================

May ‘09 April ‘09 May/April May Y/Y

==============================================================

(%) (%)

OUTPUT 139,723 137,442 +1.7 -28.7

Flat-rolled 90,177 85,244 +5.8 -26.5

Extruded 49,546 52,198 -5.1 -32.5

SHIPMENTS 138,503 137,718 +0.6 -29.6

Flat-rolled 89,486 86,159 +3.9 -27.7

Extruded 49,017 51,559 -4.9 -33.0

INVENTORY 80,529 79,219 +1.7 +1.8

Flat-rolled 68,862 68,048 +1.2 +1.1

Extruded 11,667 11,171 +4.4 +6.1

===========================================================

To contact the reporter on this story: Aya Takada in Tokyo at atakada2@bloomberg.net