US April primary aluminum output off 36.5 pct yr/yr

NEW YORK, May 8 (Reuters) - The annual rate of primary U.S. aluminum production in April slid 36.5 percent year-on-year to 1,764,641 tonnes from 2,779,160 tonnes in April 2008, and was down 2.5 percent from March's annual rate of 1,809,788 tonnes, the Aluminum Association said on Friday. For the year through April, the annual production rate tumbled 29.5 percent to 1,948,969 tonnes from a 2,765,372-tonne rate in the comparable 2008 period, according to the industry association's report. Actual aluminum production for April came to 145,039 tonnes, less than 153,708 tonnes in March, and 227,800 tonnes in April 2008, the association said. Actual production for the year-to-date through April came to 640,757 tonnes, well below the 914,235 tonnes produced in the same period of 2008, the report said. April's average daily production at 4,835 tonnes was well below 7,593 tonnes in April 2008, and was down from the 4,958 average daily tonnes produced in March, the aluminum group added. It also said average daily production was down in the first four months at 5,340 tonnes from 7,556 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 David Gregorio)