Japan: Rolled aluminium shipments drop 5% in July'23

As per data provided in the "Overview of Production and Shipments of Rolled Aluminium Products" by the Japan Aluminium Association, there was a 5.1% y-o-y decline in the shipment of rolled aluminium products in July, amounting to 145,429 tonnes (t). Additionally, production also experienced a 5.6% y-o-y decrease, reaching 147,351 t. While there was an uptick in sales for automotive applications and plate extrusion, sales were sluggish for can stock, construction, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and exports.

Breaking down the data by product type, plate shipments saw a 6.0% reduction, amounting to 89,220 t. The domestic demand experienced a slight decline to 79,283 t (-0.6%), primarily attributed to sluggish exports, particularly to can stock in North America. Despite this, there was a notable recovery in production, with automotive sales reaching 17,766 t, marking a significant increase of 44.4%. This surge can be attributed to the growing utilisation of aluminium panels in vehicles.

On the flip side, can stock accounted for 33,374 t, showing a decrease of 5.2%. This decline was influenced by a decreased willingness to purchase beverages due to price hikes caused by the vanishing demand for at-home consumption. In comparison to July 2019, the period prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, there was a reduction of 6,000 t.

The export figures painted a similarly subdued picture, with a sharp drop to 9,937 t, representing a significant decline of 34.3%. Extrusion figures showed a 3.6% decline, totalling 56,209 t. Notably, automotive materials experienced a rebound, reaching 11,831 t with a noteworthy increase of 22.8%, attributed to the recovery in truck bodywork demand. Conversely, the construction sector witnessed a decrease in sales, amounting to 31,899 t, marking an 11.8% decline. This reduction was primarily driven by a decreased utilisation of aluminium per house.

Foil production from base metal boards faced a more substantial decrease, plummeting by 16.2% to 8,248 t. Sales for lithium-ion batteries and condensers also suffered significant drops, reaching 2,357 t (down 14.5%) and 1,553 t (down 23.3%), respectively. Although there was a recovery in sales for automotive components, the consumer product segment, particularly smartphones, experienced sluggish sales. Food production figures stood at 1,788 t, showing a decrease of 12.2%. This drop was mainly attributed to reduced consumption, particularly in luxury goods due to escalated prices. Additionally, sales of functional beverages declined in response to the robust sales witnessed in the previous fiscal year.

This article has been published under an exchange agreement between SteelMint and Japan Metal Daily.