The shipment volumes of rolled aluminum products (plates and extrusions) increased by 9.4% in FY21 against the corresponding period of the previous year to 1.90 million tonnes (mnt), according to a preliminary report on the “Overview of Production and Shipment of Rolled Aluminum Products in FY2022”, released by the Japan Aluminum Association on 22 April, 2022.
Out of the total shipments, plates comprised 1.175 mnt (up 10.7% y-o-y), and extruded products were at 0.72 mnt (up 7.3% y-o-y. The volume of plates increased for the first time in 5 years, and extrusions increased for the first time in 4 years.
Compared to FY20, when demand decreased due to the spread of Covid, battery related and building materials recovered significantly, although demand for automobile materials slowed down in the second half of the year.
Compare to pre-Covid scene
The shipment volume of rolled aluminum products in FY21 rose by a mere 1% compared to the pre-Covid period of FY19. Although it did not reach the targeted 2 mnt, it showed some recovery. The driving forces were automobile components, semiconductors, building and foil materials, export products, etc. Shipments of planks for semiconductor components were strong throughout the year.
Production of automobile materials continued to increase by double digits from April-August, 2021, maintaining the momentum of rapid recovery in production volume. But shipments dropped sharply in September because of semiconductor shortages and other factors.
Current scenario
In March 2022, shipment of plates decreased by 12% against March 2021 to 17,401 tonnes, and that of extruded products decreased by 17% to 18,817 t. Plates production was greatly affected by the delay in increasing production by major domestic automobile manufacturers.
However, the shipment volume of foil products, which is outside the shipment volume of rolled aluminum products, increased by 13% to 125,435 t. Sales of lithium-ion batteries and capacitators were strong.
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