Inventory and Sales Continue Down at Aluminium Product Dealers

Aluminium rolled product inventory and sales volume became yearly lowest in December 2006 at the dealers in Tokyo and Osaka, according to the seasonal survey for the members of Japan Light Metal Merchant’s Association. The total inventory was 24,059 tonnes in December, down by 4.5% from previous survey in September 2006, and the sales decreased by 2.6% to 29,768 tonnes.The dealers seemed to avoid increasing aluminium product inventories when primary aluminium ingot price continued surging. The sales volume decreased when the small-lot orders for immediate demand increased due to higher aluminium ingot price, even though there were nominal demand from some users.The inventory volume continued down at the surveys in September and December. Inventories at the dealers around Tokyo, including aluminium plate and extrusion, decreased by 0.9% to 17,322 tonnes in December from September, while decreasing by 12.7% to 6,737 tonnes in Osaka area. Aluminium plate inventory decreased by 4.8% to 18,181 tonnes and the extrusion downed by 3.5% to 5,878 tonnes as total of Tokyo and Osaka.Sales volume of aluminium rolled products continued down at the surveys in June, September and December and even became to below 30,405 tonnes in November. The sales decreased by 2.3% to 22,190 tonnes in Tokyo and by 3.5% to 7,578 tonnes in Osaka. Aluminium plate sales downed by 2.1% to 21,431 tonnes and the extrusion by 4% to 8,337 tonnes as total of Tokyo and Osaka.