Japan Rolled Aluminium Capacity Utilization Drops in 2008

Japanese rolled aluminium makers’ capacity utilization decreased by 3.1 percentage points to 87.1% in 2008 from 2007, according to Japan Aluminium Association. The extrusion operation was less than 90% while the operation of flat products was firm. The operating rate decreased by 17.8 points to 67.6% in December from a year earlier. With worsening economy condition, the operation could keep low level in and after January.

The operation rate was 69.7% for flat products in December, which was 19.8 points lower than November and 15.1 points lower than a year earlier, when the production decreased to 83,747 tonnes, which was 6.6% lower than November and 2.6% lower than a year earlier. The operation of extrusion decreased to around 65% due to slower demand for construction and manufacturers.

The annual operation rate showed milder drop in 2008 from 2007 due to firm operation in the first half year. The flat products operation was almost same level as 2007 due to firm demand for machinery and distributors. The extrusion operation decreased to less than 80%.