Japan Secondary Al Alloy Shipment Levels Off in May

Japanese secondary aluminum and alloy production was 90,675 tonnes in May, increasing by 1.5% year-on-year, announced Japan Aluminium Alloy Refiners Association on Monday. The production represented year-on-year increase after 2 months. The shipment decreased by 0.2% to 92,237 tonnes in May from a year earlier, which showed year-on-year down for 3 months in a row.Demand for secondary aluminium alloy is weakening due to the stagnant car sales in North America. Japanese secondary aluminium alloy makers continue the output reduction by 5-10% when Japanese export of completed cars and knockdown sets is decreasing.Major automakers announced the significant output reduction plans in June. An alloy maker source said the supply of secondary aluminium alloy has already become surplus against the demand. The alloy makers seem to reduce the selling prices in order to secure the sale volume.The shipment for die castings was 52,361 tonnes in May, increasing by 0.6% year-on-year. The shipment for castings increased by 0.9% to 23,278 tonnes. On the other hand, the shipment for extrusions decreased by 3.5% to 5,268 tonnes due to slow demand from construction market.