Japan Rolled Aluminium Output Drops by 0.8% in 1H

Japanese rolled aluminium output decreased by 0.8% to 1.17 million tonnes in January-June from same period of 2006, announced by Japan Aluminium Association on Thursday. The shipment decreased by 0.7% to 1.168 million tonnes. Both the figures decreased for 3 years in a row when the construction demand was slow along with lower demand for extrusion. The flat products output and shipment increased in the first half from same period of 2006, which was first increase in 3 years. The demand increased for automobile and transport industry while the demand decreased for electric and general machinery. The extrusion output and shipment decreased in the first half from same period of 2006 despite of higher demand for machinery. The demand was slow for construction, truck and bus. The foil output and shipment decreased for the first time in 2 years despite of firm demand for capacitor due to lower demand for food and commodity products.