Japan Secondary Al Output Decreases by 14.7% in 1H 2011

Japanese secondary aluminium and aluminium alloy ingot output decreased by 14.7% to 354,113 tonnes in January-June from same period of 2010, according to Japan Aluminium Alloy Refiners Association. The shipment decreased by 14.5% to 356,844 tonnes. The output and the shipment represented year-on-year decrease for 2 terms in a row. The demand was very low level in March-May when car makers significantly reduced the output after the major earth quake in March.

The secondary aluminium ingot and aluminium alloy ingot shipment decreased by 13.0% to 93,564 tonnes for die casting in January-June from same period of 2010. The shipment decreased by 15.7% to 198,974 tonnes for casting.

The shipment decreased by 16.6% for die casing and by 9.1% for casting in March from a year earlier due to the earth quake. The shipment decreased by 33.0% for die casting and by 41.3% for casting in April from a year earlier, which were lower than the slow shipment in April 2009 after the Lehman Shock. The shipment increased by 40.5% to more than 34,000 tonnes for die casting and by 49.9% for casting in June from May.