Japan's Aluminum Products Output Declines 0.7% in May (Table)

Japan's output of aluminum products fell 0.7 percent in May to 199,632 tons from a year earlier, driven by weaker demand for cans and construction, the Japan Aluminium Association said in a statement.

Output of so-called rolling-mill products dropped 0.1 percent from a year earlier to 120,214 tons, while extruded products decreased 1.6 percent to 79,418 tons, the association said today in a statement.

Association members include Furukawa-Sky Aluminum Corp., Kobe Steel Ltd., and Nippon Light Metal Co.

Details of the month's output, shipments and inventories are as follows:

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                                 May '07     Apr '07      Mar '07   May/Apr   May Y/Y

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                                                                                          (%)     (%)

OUTPUT               199,632    198,264   207,265       0.7     -0.7

Flat-rolled             120,214   117,737   121,587       2.1     -0.1

Extruded                79,418    80,527       85,678        -1.4     -1.6

SHIPMENTS        196,856   195,785    203,846       0.5     -0.5

Flat-rolled            118,091   116,253    119,902       1.6      0.1

Extruded              78,765       79,532      83,944        -1.0     -1.4

INVENTORY       81,813       80,096      76,459          2.1      4.9

Flat-rolled            69,425      67,025      65,526          3.6      3.8

Extruded              12,388      13,071      10,933         -5.2     11.5

FOIL Output         10,817     11,962      12,331         -9.6     -0.5

Shipment             10,79