Japan Secondary Al Alloy Shipment Keeps Steady in June

Japanese secondary aluminium and aluminium alloy ingot production increased by 16.2% to 70,875 tonnes in June from a year earlier while the shipment increased by 16.3% to 72,802 tonnes, according to Japan Aluminium Alloy Refiners Association. Both production and shipment represented year-on-year increase for 7 straight months. Compared with the previous month, the production increased by 8.9% and the shipment upped by 12.8%. By comparison with June 2008 before global economy deterioration, the production was 72.8% and the shipment was 74.7%.

The shipment increased by 16.4% for die casting in June compared with May. Castings increased by 13.5% and plates upped by 7.6%. Extrusions decreased by 19.5% to 2,584 tonnes.

Ingot makers’ base metal procurement decreased by 5.9% from domestic market while the export expanded by 81.9% compared with May. The total procurement increased by 3,341 tonnes from May. Japanese ingot makers increased the import of low-priced Russian base metal actively.