Japan Secondary Al Production Declines by 37.4% in June

Japanese secondary aluminium and alloy ingot production decreased by 37.4% to 60,969 tonnes in June from a year earlier, which showed year-to-year decline for 13 months in a row, according to Japan Aluminium Alloy Refiners Association. The shipment decreased by 35.8% to 62,591 tonnes, which declined for 11 straight months. However, the range of drop shrank for 6 months in a row for both production and shipment when the demand recovered gradually.

The shipment of secondary aluminium and alloy for die casting decreased by 34.6% to 35,419 tonnes in June from a year earlier while the shipment for casting decreased by 36.2% to 16,522 tonnes. However, the range of drop shrank by about 10 percentage points compared with May when automobile showed a sign to recover.

The averaged operation rate of major secondary aluminium makers remains 60-65%, which is same level as in July and maker sources estimate the domestic demand would not increase so much in August-September.