Japan's aluminium demand for construction to fall 0.4% in 2007

Tokyo--Japan's demand for construction materials made of aluminium and its alloys is expected to edge down by 0.4% year on year to 450,000 mt in fiscal 2007, Japan Sash Manufacturers Association said in a forecast published on Friday. Fiscal 2007 runs from April 2007 to March 2008.

Out of the 450,000 mt, aluminium sliding doors for houses and buildings accounted for 291,000 mt, and doors, other exteriors and interiors 159,000 mt. Sliding doors are expected to fall 1.0% year on year while doors, exteriors and interiors are projected to rise 0.7 %.

The association said the stronger Japanese economy would encourage people to build new homes but there are also discouraging factors such as higher interest rates, the rising real estate prices and construction costs. It put its new housing forecast for the fiscal 2007 at 1.28 million homes, down 0.8% from the previous year. Non-residential buildings constructions are also expected to edge down, also by 0.8% to 123,600 square kilometers.

In January to December 2006, construction materials accounted for 28.8% of the total rolled aluminium products demand. Five years ago in 2001, they accounted for a larger share of 32.7%. The association official said sliding doors made of aluminium and resin have become wide spread in colder parts of the country due to their superior heat insulation property compared with doors made entirely of aluminium. He also noted that new homes in recent years have smaller window, thus consuming less aluminium.