Aluminum Shipments by Japan Decline at Slower Pace

By Aya Takada

Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s shipments of aluminum rolled products dropped at the slowest pace in nine months in August as demand improved from the auto and electronics sectors.

Supplies to the domestic and export markets declined 19 percent to 138,920 metric tons from 170,856 tons a year earlier, the Japan Aluminium Association said in a statement today. The pace of decrease slowed for a sixth month after starting to drop in October. Shipments plunged 39 percent in February, the worst slump in 34 years.

Manufacturers boosted metal purchases to expand production as government incentives raised sales of energy-efficient cars and appliances. Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., Japan’s two largest carmakers, led the first gain in the nation’s auto sales in 13 months in August as demand for their hybrid models increased.

“Sales to the auto sector are getting better,” Tetsu Takahashi, the association chairman, told reporters in Tokyo today. “Shipments of aluminum plates for use in manufacturing equipment for semiconductors and liquid crystal displays are also going well.”

Shipments to the car industry fell 27 percent from a year earlier to 16,358 tons in August as the pace of contraction moderated for a fifth month.

Improved demand from the machinery industries was partly offset by a drop in sales to can makers, Takahashi said.

Cool Weather

Shipments to can makers slumped by 20 percent from a year earlier to 30,830 tons in August, compared with a 0.6 percent drop in July. Cool and rainy weather this summer, an influence from the El Nino weather pattern, helped reduce beverage consumption in Japan.

“We expect consumption will recover as weather conditions are improving,” Takahashi 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 August are as follows:

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Aug. ‘09 July ‘09 Aug/July Aug Y/Y ==============================================================

(%) (%) OUTPUT 139,230 166,456 -16.4 -18.2 Flat-rolled 85,172 104,258 -18.3 -17.0 Extruded 54,058 62,198 -13.1 -20.1 SHIPMENTS 138,920 166,610 -16.6 -18.7 Flat-rolled 85,389 104,970 -18.7 -17.8 Extruded 53,531 61,640 -13.2 -20.1 INVENTORY 81,886 81,506 +0.5 +3.1 Flat-rolled 68,623 68,793 -0.2 +0.5 Extruded 13,263 12,713 +4.3 +19.0 =========================================================

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