Japan aluminium shipments shows signs of stabilising

TOKYO, April 28 (Reuters) - Japanese shipments of aluminium products showed signs of stabilising in March, industry data showed, although at levels a hefty 35.8 percent down from a year earlier. Shipments totalled 124,248 tonnes, Japan Aluminium Association data showed, up 10 percent from February's 26-year low of 112,991 tonnes and a slightly smaller annual fall than the 38.7 percent slide seen that month from a year earlier. "It looks things are stabilising when compared with the time shipments were falling at double digit rates month-on-month," Aluminium Association chairman Hiroshi Yao told a news conference. Shipments of the metal, used in packaging, construction, electronics and transport, plunged between November and January as the global financial crisis crunched demand for major users, particularly automakers. The edging up of aluminium shipments follows macroeconomic data showing that seasonally adjusted Japanese exports also rose a little in March, although similarly still well short of levels seen a year earlier. [ID:nT55668] Economists also expect Japanese industrial production data due on Thursday to show a modest monthly increase of 0.8 percent in March after months of sharp falls. ECONJP But the stabilisation in aluminium shipments, if sustained, is at very low levels. Shipments by the autos sector were 73 percent lower than a year ago. "The mood in the economy may have hit a bottom and somewhat recovered, but I don't expect any recovery in demand in coming months to be strong," added Yao, who is also president and CEO at Mitsubishi Aluminum Co. There are also mildly positive signs on stocks. An official at Marubeni Corp said this month that stocks at three major Japanese ports fell 9.6 percent in March from a 10-year high in February as demand grew from China and Japanese firms slashed imports. It was the first monthly fall in inventories since October, but stocks were still up 72 percent from a year earlier, marking an eighth straight month of annual rises. [ID:nT81433] While there is one refinery, Japan imports virtually all the aluminium it needs. In the year to March 2009, shipments of aluminium products fell 11.8 percent to 2.03 million tonnes, the association said, marking the lowest annual tonnage since 1987/88. The association has forecast an 11.1 percent fall in shipments in the year to next March. Among the hardest hit in 2008/09 were shipments in the autos sector, down 22 percent, and those in the high-tech sector, down 20 percent, the data showed. Tetsu Takahashi, the vice-chairman of the association and head of aluminium and copper at Kobe Steel (5406.T: Quote, Profile, Research), said stock adjustments at some companies in the high-tech sector were over, but demand from chipmaking machinery manufacturers and solar panel makers still lagged. (Editing by Rodney Joyce)