High Operation Rate at Japan Aluminium Rerollers in 1H

The operation rate at Japanese aluminium rerollers decreased by 1.2 percentage points to 91.2% for aluminium plate and extrusion in January-June 2006 from the same period of 2005, according to Japan Aluminium Association. The total operating rate decreased slightly due to lower operation for flat products. However, the operation kept the high level at over 90%.The operation rate decreased by 2.5 percentage points to 94.5% for aluminium flat products at the rerollers in January-June 2006 from the same period of 2005. The operation was full in May and June while stayed at over 80% in January and February. The production kept active for aluminium plate used in information technology related fields but became lower for aluminium can materials.The operation rate improved slightly by 0.3 percentage points to 87.1% for aluminium extrusions in January-June 2006 from the same period of 2005. Extrusion production is steady for non-construction related demands mainly for automobiles and the operating rate recovered to over 90% in June after 7 months.