US primary aluminum output slid in Aug. yr/yr-group

NEW YORK, Sept 11 (Reuters) - The annual rate of primary U.S. aluminum production tumbled 40.1 percent to 1,570,783 tonnes in August from 2,622,839 tonnes in August 2008, and was down 1.5 percent from July's annual rate of 1,594,096 tonnes, the Aluminum Association said on Friday. For the year through August, the annual production rate dropped 34.7 percent to 1,784,967 tonnes from a 2,732,010-tonne rate in the similar 2008 period. Actual production for August came to 133,409 tonnes, down sharply from 222,153 tonnes in August 2008, and below the 135,389 tonnes produced in July, the association said. August's average daily production fell to 4,304 tonnes from 7,166 tonnes in August 2008, and was down from 4,367 average tonnes produced in July, the aluminum group added. It also said average daily production dropped to 4,890 tonnes in the first seven months from 7,465 tonnes in the comparable 2008 period. The association said companies participating in the survey account for 100 percent of U.S. primary aluminum production. (Reporting by Carole Vaporean; Editing by Christian Wiessner)