Japan Secondary Al Production Declines by 43% in May

Japanese secondary aluminium and alloy ingot production decreased by 43.1% to 51,614 tonnes in May from a year earlier while the shipment declined by 44.8% to 50,883 tonnes, announced by Japan Aluminium Alloy Refiners Association on Monday. The production showed year-to-year decline for 12 months in a row while the shipment decreased for 10 straight months. However the range of drop has been shrank since March. Secondary aluminium and alloy demand are recovering gradually.

The demand of secondary aluminium alloy is slightly increasing due to progress of the inventory adjustment by die-cast makers and other users. The operation rate of major auminium alloy makers has seemed to recover to 60-65%. However, sources point out that the domestic demand has already peaked. The demand becomes increasingly likely to stay flat during 2009.