Japan: Aluminium imports fall over 15%, exports down 10% m-o-m in Jul’22

Japan’s aluminium imports fell 17.03% m-o-m in July 2022 to 0.22 million tonnes (mnt) as against 0.27 mnt in June.

• Semi-finished aluminium imports down: Imports of semi-finished aluminium products (alloyed and non-alloyed) were recorded at 181,476 tonnes (t) in July 2022 as against 222,754 t in the previous month, a fall of 18.53% m-o-m. The UAE was the largest exporter with 36,280 t followed by Australia and Malaysia with 31,907 t and 24,962 t.

• Finished aluminium imports rise: Imports of finished aluminium products stood at 22,346 t in July as against 22,189 t in June, a marginal rise by 0.71% m-o-m. China was the largest exporter of finished flat with 12,074 t while for finished long, USA topped the list at 640 t.

• Aluminium scrap imports fall sharply: Aluminium scrap imports were recorded at 5,973 t in the month under review, a sharp fall of 26.85% compared to 8,166 t in June. The largest exporter was USA at 2,658 t followed by Taiwan and Malaysia at 601 t and 370 t.

Exports of aluminium products decline in July

Japan’s total aluminium exports stood at 65,254 t in July, a decline of 10.40%, m-o-m against 72,829 t a month ago.

However, alumina exports were recorded at 6,219 t in the month, a marginal rise of 0.40% m-o-m.

• Semi-finished exports rise over 25%: Unwrought aluminium (alloyed and non alloyed) exports stood at 2,287 t in the month under review, an increase of 29% m-o-m against 1,777 t in the previous month. China was the largest importer with 700 t followed by South Korea with 586 t.
• Finished aluminium exports down: Japan exported a total of 26,318 t of finished aluminium material in the review month as against 26,541 t in June, a decrease of 0.84% m-o-m. China was the largest importer with around 11,950 t followed by South Korea with 3,600 t.
• Aluminium scrap exports drop: Aluminium scrap exports were recorded at 36,648 t, a drop of 18% m-o-m. China imported 12,870 t followed by Malaysia and South Korea at 7,868 t and 5,916 t.

Import-export data in Jan-Jul’22

Total aluminium import volumes during January-July 2022 were at 1.80 mnt, as per data maintained with SteelMint. Meanwhile, exports in this period were recorded at 475,235 t.