Japan Colored Al Shipment Returns to Average Level in Jan-Jun

Japanese colored aluminum shipment increased by 6.6% to 13,059 tonnes for January-June 2010 compared with the same period of 2009, according to Japan Aluminium Association. The shipment was lower by 5.5% than in January-June 2008 and by 0.8% than in January-June 2007. The volume recovered to the current average level after the significant decline in January-June 2009.

The shipment for architectural materials represented year-to-year minus for all applications except for walls. In Japan, new housing and building starts stay stagnant.

Meanwhile, the shipment widely recovered for non-architectural materials. The shipment increased by 326.4% to 6,998 tonnes for electric appliances and machines, which became higher than the 6-month shipment in 2007 and 2008. The shipment for transporting machines increased by 50.6% to 4,020 tonnes.