Japan Aluminum Shipments Drop at Slower Pace in April (Update2)

May 27 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s shipments of aluminum rolled products dropped at a slower pace in April than in March as demand from beverage can makers increased, moderating slump in sales to auto and machinery makers. Supplies to the domestic and export markets fell 31 percent to 137,718 metric tons from 198,612 tons a year earlier, the Japan Aluminium Association said in a statement today. The pace of decline slowed for a second month after starting to drop in October. Shipments plunged 39 percent in February, the worst slump in 34 years, and tumbled 36 percent in March. Japan raised this week its assessment of the economy for the first time in three years on signs the worst of the recession may be over. The government said it was more optimistic about exports and industrial production after companies said they plan to boost output to replenish stockpiles. “Shipments to can manufacturers increased, but demand from other sectors remained weak,” Takuki Murayama, secretary general at the association, told reporters in Tokyo today. Demand from can producers, the largest consumers of aluminum rolled products in Japan, climbed 9.5 percent in April, moderating a slump in demand from makers of cars, electric machinery and construction materials. Japan’s exports fell at a slower pace in April, data from the Finance Ministry showed today, adding to signs the country’s worst recession since World War II may be easing. Shipments abroad slumped 39.1 percent in April from a year earlier, after dropping 45.5 percent in March. From a month earlier, exports rose 1.9 percent, a second straight gain. Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa predicted on May 25 the economy will resume growing this quarter after shrinking at a record pace in the three months ended March 31. Members of the Japan Aluminium Association include Furukawa-Sky Aluminum Corp., Kobe Steel Ltd. and Nippon Light Metal Co. Details of output, shipments and inventories for April are as follow: ============================================================== April ‘09 March ‘09 April/March April Y/Y ============================================================== (%) (%) OUTPUT 137,442 118,167 +16.3 -29.9 Flat-rolled 85,244 72,587 +17.4 -28.3 Extruded 52,198 45,580 +14.5 -32.4 SHIPMENTS 137,718 124,248 +10.8 -30.7 Flat-rolled 86,159 78,670 +9.5 -29.7 Extruded 51,559 45,578 +13.1 -32.3 INVENTORY 79,219 79,611 -0.5 +1.0 Flat-rolled 68,048 68,964 -1.3 +0.2 Extruded 11,171 10,647 +4.9 +6.6