Japan Rolled Aluminium Output Drops by 1.6% in 2007

Japanese rolled aluminium output decreased by 1.6% to 2.334 million tonnes in 2007 from 2006, announced by Japan Aluminium Association on Friday. The shipment decreased by 1.6% to 2.324 million tonnes. The output and shipment decreased for the first time in 2 years with slower extrusion demand for building application despite of the recovering demand for flat products. The flat products output increased in 2007 for the first time in 3 years while the shipment increased for 2 years in a row. The demand was firm for can and transport along with export while the demand dropped for machinery and distributors. The extrusion output and shipment decreased for the first time in 2 years despite of higher demand for automobile due to slow demand for sash. The foil output shipment also decreased for the first time in 2 years due to food and commodity application despite of the firm demand for capacitor. The rolled products output decreased by 6.5% to 184,866 tonnes in December from a year earlier. The shipment decreased by 5.2% to 182,566 tonnes. The output and shipment decreased for 4 months in a row.