Japan Rolled Al Operation Rate Increases to 75.4% in August

Japanese rolled aluminium makers’ operation rate increased by 9.0 percentage points to 75.4% in August from a year earlier, according to Japan Aluminium Association. The production significantly decreased from July due to the summer outage. However, the rate of year-on-year increase was same as July.

The operation rate of aluminium flat rolled products was steady through August since March, which topped 100% in March and marked more than 90% through July. The production was supported by strong demand for automobile, information technology and general machinery.

The production rate of extrusion kept more than 70% in August compared with just more than 60% in August 2009. The operation rate improved due to reduction of the capacity and steady automobile demand. The rate could increase to more than 80% thanks to the existing order backlog.