Japan: Aluminium imports up 9%, exports down 38% m-o-m in Jan'23

Japan's aluminium imports stood at 238,502 tonnes (t) in January 2023, Customs data showed. The volumes were up by 9% m-o-m compared to 217,959 t in December 2022. Imports were down by 17% from 289,057 t in January 2022 y-o-y.

Imports of ores/concentrates had significantly gone up in January 2023. China and Australia being one of the largest producers of aluminium had exported bulk quantity of ores/concentrates that impacted the overall aluminium imports of Japan.

Sub-commodity-wise imports

• Ores/concentrates: Imports stood at 11,269 t in January 2023, up 57% m-o-m compared to 7,166 t in December 2022.
  
  
• Semi finished products: Imports rose by 6% m-o-m to 196,384 t in January 2023 from 185,426 t in the previous month.
  
  
• Scrap: Imports saw a rise of 31% m-o-m to 10,096 t compared to 7,678 t in December 2022.
  
  
• Finished products: Import volumes inched up by 17% m-o-m to 20,753 t in January 2023 compared to 17,690 t in December.
  
  

Country-wise imports-

• Imports from Australia up: Japan's aluminium imports from Australia were recorded at 42,698 t in January 2023, an increase of 49% m-o-m from 28,613 t in December 2022. Similarly, the volumes increased sharply by 13% from 37,872 t in January 2022 y-o-y.
  
  
• Imports from China increase: Japan imported 27,177 t of aluminium from China in January 2023, up 9% from 24,831 t in December. The volumes rose by 38% y-o-y from 19,711 t in the corresponding period last year (CPLY).
  
  

Japan's aluminium exports down 38% m-o-m

The country's aluminium exports stood at 42,208 t in January 2023, a fall of 38% m-o-m as against 68,520 t in December 2022. The volume decreased marginally by 15% from 49,685 t in January 2022 y-o-y.

The manufacturing index of the country was stable compared against the previous month and the automobile sales had gone up in January 2023, due to higher domestic consumption of aluminium, the export volumes had fallen significantly.

Sub-commodity-wise exports-

• Ores/concentrates: Exports stood at 4,581 t in January 2023, down 5% m-o-m compared to 4,843 t in December 2022.
  
  
• Semi finished products: Exports fell by 36% m-o-m to 928 t in January 2023 from 1,443 t in the previous month.
  
  
• Scrap: Imports saw a decline of 41% m-o-m to 21,630 t in January 2023 compared to 36,414 t in December 2022.
  
  
• Finished products: Export volumes went down drastically by 42% m-o-m to 15,070 t in January 2023 compared to 25,820 t in December 2022.
  
  

Country-wise exports-

• • • Exports to China down: Japan exported 10,833 t to China in the month under review, significantly down by 52% m-o-m compared to 22,728 t in December 2022. Similarly, shipments decreased by 19% compared to 13,382 t in the corresponding period last year y-o-y.
      
      
    • Exports to South Korea fall: Exports to South Korea stood at 6,794 t in January 2023, down 5% as against 7,171 t in December 2022. The volumes fell sharply by 31% from 9,782 t in January 2022 y-o-y.
      
      
    • Exports to Thailand decrease: Exports to Thailand fell by 25% m-o-m to 6,572 t in January 2023. The volume fell by 25% as against 8,770 t in January 2022 y-o-y.