Japan Dec rolled aluminum shipments fall 3.2% on year to 152,526 mt

Japan's rolled aluminum shipments in December 2012 fell 3.2% year on year to 152,526 mt, Japan Aluminum Association said Friday.
Total sheet shipments, including those to the domestic market and overseas, were 88,629 mt, up 4.2% year on year, thanks to stable demand for cansheets for non-alcoholic beverages, according to the association's data.
Cansheet shipments to domestic end-users were 30,468 mt, up 1.8% year on year.
Sheet exports - half comprised of cansheets - were 15,954 mt, up 16.7% year on year.
Total extrusion shipments were 63,897 mt, down 11.8%. Last year, shipment levels were unusually high, as production had shifted to Japan from Thailand temporarily on the back of Thai plants closing because of floods, the association said.
Extrusion exports were 603 mt, down 10.8%.