Japan: Aluminium die-casting shows 9.6% growth, automotive sector slows down y-o-y

According to recent production statistics from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry for July, the production of aluminium die-casting saw a y-o-y increase of 9.6%, reaching a total of 83,781 t, as per Japan Metal Daily report.

While sales in the general machinery and electrical machinery sectors experienced a decline compared to the previous year, there has been notable growth in sales for motorcycles and other applications, alongside the consistent demand in the automotive sector.

However, it was worth noting that the rate of growth has slowed down to single digits, despite surpassing the previous year's levels for the fifth consecutive month.

Looking at specific applications, sales for automotive applications, which are considered the primary sector, reached 75,022 t, marking a 10.9% y-o-y increase. Although this represents the fifth consecutive month of y-o-y growth, the rate of increase has decreased compared to the previous month.

Motorcycle production, on the other hand, totalled 1,852 t, showing a modest 0.7% y-o-y increase. This marked the fourth consecutive month of surpassing the previous year's figures, but the rate of increase has also slowed to single digits.

In contrast, production for general machinery decreased by 1.7% y-o-y to 2,337 t, marking the first y-o-y decline in two months. Similarly, electrical machinery production saw a 5.5% y-o-y decrease to 1,351 t, continuing its trend of being below the previous year's levels for 10 consecutive months, with the rate of decline widening compared to the previous month.

As for other applications, there was 3,217 t, up by 2.5% y-o-y, marking the sixth consecutive month of surpassing the previous year's figures, although the rate of increase had diminished compared to the previous month.