Potential Tight Supply for Alloyed Aluminium Ingot in Japan

Japanese alloyed aluminium ingot import surged from South Korea. The import increased by 2.2 times at 7,024 tonnes in March from a year earlier, according to Ministry of Finance when South Korean alloy makers exported the material at lower price due to output reduction by Hyundai Motor. However, Japanese alloy ingot supply could get tighter when the import would decrease in and after July due to higher output by Hyundai Motor. Japanese die-casting makers increased the cheaper import from South Korea through trading firms since January instead of import from Russia and China. The import from South Korea increased by 2.3 times at 21,390 tonnes in January-April. Japanese buyers apparently purchase with quarterly contracts. The import was 4,946 tonnes in April and the volume in May and June is expected to be in line with that. Japanese interests expect the import will decrease in and after July when Hyundai Steel increases the output though Japanese buyers didn’t conclude the order for July. Japanese alloyed aluminium makers reduce the profit under higher raw materials cost when they concluded the price negotiation for the ingot price to leave the price unchanged for May shipment as April. However, the import from South Korea could decrease in and after July and the high priced import from China and Russia wouldn’t increase. Japanese buyers could increase the purchase from Japanese suppliers. Some Japanese interests expect the domestic supply could get tighter in and after July. Others see Japanese industry has additional output capacity enough to cover the decrease for import from South Korea.