Japan: Aluminium imports rise 6% y-o-y in Jan-Apr’22

Japan ‘s aluminium imports rose 6% in January-April 2022 to 1.10 million tonnes (mnt) as against 1.04 mnt in the same period last year.

• Semi-finished aluminium imports up: Imports of aluminium semi finished products (alloyed and non-alloyed) were recorded at 892,110 tonnes (t) in January-April 2022 as against 840,721 t in the corresponding period last year (CPLY). Imports from Australia were the highest at 126,248 t in this period, down 5% vis-a-vis 132,905 t in CPLY, followed by the UAE and Russia at 164,045 t and 158,619 t respectively.
• Finished aluminium imports rise: Imports of aluminium finished products stood at 84,943 t in the period under review as against 77,173 t in CPLY, a rise of 10% y-o-y. The highest volumes were imported from China at 45,830 t, a rise of nearly 9% compared to 42,271 t in January-April 2021.
• Aluminium scrap imports spike: Aluminium waste and scrap imports were recorded at 31,027 t in the first four months of CY22, a sharp hike of 43% as compared to 21,716 t seen in the same period last year.

Exports of aluminium products in Jan-Apr’22

Japan’s total aluminium exports stood at nearly 244,995 t in January-April period, a decline of 6%, y-o-y against 260,186 t in the same period in 2021.

• Semi-finished exports fall over 28%: Unwrought aluminium (alloyed and non alloyed) exports stood at 7,440 t in the period under review, a decrease of 28.7% y-o-y against 10,423 t in CPLY. The major importer was South Korea, with 2,644 t, followed by China at 2,065 t and Thailand at 1,621 t.
• Aluminium finished products exports down: Japan exported a total of 102,173 t of finished aluminium material in January-April 2022 as against 103,873 t in CPLY, a decrease of 1.6% y-o-y. The major importer of Japanese finished aluminium products was China with 41,329 t, followed by USA with 17,305 t and Thailand with 11,553 t.
• Aluminium scrap exports drop: Aluminium scrap exports were recorded at 126,962 t in this period as against 136,756 t in the same period in 2021, a drop of 7.2% y-o-y. The largest aluminium scrap importer from Japan was China at 34,836 t, followed by South Korea and Thailand at 31,440 t and 22,361 t, respectively.

Other Japanese aluminium products exports stood at 8,418 t in January-April period as against 9,134 t in the same period in 2021, down 7.84% y-o-y. China was the biggest importer at 1,545 t.