Japan's Aluminum Product Shipments Rise 0.2% in August

Sept. 27 -- Japan's aluminum product shipments rose 0.2 percent in August to 182,762 metric tons from a year earlier, as demand from beverage can makers increased, the Japan Aluminium Association said. Shipments of so-called flat-rolled products rose 3.5 percent from a year earlier to 106,483 tons, while extruded products fell 4.1 percent to 76,279 tons, the association said today in a statement. Association members include Furukawa-Sky Aluminum Corp., Kobe Steel Ltd. and Nippon Light Metal Co. Ltd. Details of the month's output, shipments and inventories are as follows: Aug '07 Jul '07 Jun '07 Aug/Jul Aug Y/Y (%) (%) OUTPUT 175,148 203,609 199,138 -14.0 +0.3 Flat-rolled 99,325 119,161 118,486 -16.6 +5.4 Extruded 75,823 84,448 80,652 -10.2 -5.7 SHIPMENTS 182,762 203,063 199,039 -10.0 +0.2 Flat-rolled 106,483 118,902 119,014 -10.4 +3.5 Extruded 76,279 84,161 80,025 -9.4 -4.1 INVENTORY 73,418 82,056 81,896 -10.5 -5.1 Flat-rolled 62,488 69,501 69,077 -10.1 -4.1 Extruded 10,930 12,555 12,819 -12.9 -10.5