Japan Secondary Aluminium Demand Keeps Strong in May

Japanese production of secondary aluminium ingot and secondary aluminium alloy ingot increased by 4.4% to 86,377 tonnes and the shipment increased by 8.9% to 89,397 tonnes in May from a year ago, both of which hit monthly records as May, announced by Japan Aluminium Alloy Refiners Association on Monday. The output represented year-to-year increase for 22 straight months and the shipment for 24 consecutive months thanks to the active demand for automobiles.Secondary aluminium alloy ingot makers keep full operations to meet active demand for automobile related applications. On the other hand, some makers are in output adjustment with the sales decrease. Automobile related demand is expected to increase in July from a year earlier even when some automakers review their output plan due to slower car sales in domestic market.However, some of secondary aluminium alloy makers point out light vehicle sales are increasing for which less aluminium alloy is used than general passenger vehicle. In the case, secondary aluminium alloy demand don’t increase so much as domestic auto production increases.