Aluminum Use Slid 16% in December in U.S., Canada, Group Says

Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Aluminum demand in the U.S. and Canada declined 16 percent in December from a year earlier and 8.1 percent for all of 2008, the Aluminum Association Inc. said. Shipments by producers in both countries plus imports equaled 22.6 billion pounds (10.3 million metric tons) in 2008 and 1.46 billion pounds in December, the Arlington, Virginia- industry group said in a report e-mailed yesterday. Output dropped 2.6 percent in January from December, the report said. Aluminum prices on the London Metal Exchange fell 36 percent last year and 12 percent in January.