Japan imported 39,300mt of aluminum scrap in January-October, up 3.9pc from 37,800mt during the same period last year, according to the Japan Aluminium Association.
Flat-rolled
The country’s total imports of flat-rolled products, however, fell by 9.2pc to 191,400mt from 210,900mt during the same 10-month time frame under comparison. On the other hand, Japan’s total unwrought aluminum products exports rose by 22.5pc to 17,400mt from 14,200mt during the same period.
Production and demand decline
According to the association’s data, the country’s secondary aluminum production dropped by 16.7pc to around 555,000mt in January-October compared with 667,000mt during the same period last year.
Aluminum extrusions produced during the year till Oct 31 tallied at 543,500mt down 13.8pc from 630,000mt during the same 10-month period in 2019. Diecasting output also fell by 21.6pc to 660,000mt from 842,000mt, while foil production declined by 4.9pc to 86,900mt from 91,400mt during the same period.
The local demand for aluminum also decreased by 14.6pc to around 3mn mt during the period under review compared with 3.51mn mt in January-October 2019.
Domestic aluminum shipments also fell during the period under review. Here is a break-up of aluminum product shipments within Japan in January-October 2020 compared with the same period last year:
| Aluminum product shipments | Jan-Oct 2020 | Jan-Oct 2019 | Pc change |
| Flat-rolled | 768,700mt | 829,000mt | -7.3pc |
| Extruded | 546,400mt | 630,600mt | -13.3pc |
| Aluminum foil | 77,400mt | 79,000mt | -1.9pc |