Platts
Japan aluminum beverage can season starts slow due to rains
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
3 min read
Japan's demand for drinks in aluminum cans typically picks up in July due to higher temperatures, but this year canstock output is off to a slow start due to rainy weather, aluminum rolling mill sources said Wednesday.
Japan's May cansheet shipments were 40,201 mt and some sources fear the June shipments may fall short of 43,000 mt due to the weather.
Since June, rain has hit once every two weekends in the most populous Tokyo area which has discouraged outdoor activities as well as sales of beer and carbonated drinks.
Some areas in south Japan marked record high rainfall during the month.
"You have a steamy day and the next day it is cold. Alternate cold and hot days make it hard to plan ahead," a mill source said.
Meanwhile, cansheet exports from Japan to Thailand and other Asian countries have also slowed recently due to increased competition from South Korean mills, a Tokyo trader said.
Japan exports 14,000-18,000 mt/month of cansheet.
But not all cansheet makers are experiencing a slow start to the season, however.
One mill source said his plant is running at full rates and his company had turned down requests for additional orders.
Separately, the slow take-off of the beverage can season has affected smaller rolling mills that make plates and construction materials as can-focused mills are now focusing on their territory.
"The mills focused on cans are not running at full rates, so they are making plates and construction materials they don't usually make at this time of the year," said one end-user source.
Run rates at his plant, which is focused on machinery components, have fallen by around 30% from the planned level, the source added.
Sources said most rolling mills have been scrambling for new businesses as demand, with the exception of the automotive sector, has weakened in June due to currency fluctuations hitting Japanese exports, and some rolling mills have requested June aluminum ingot deliveries to be postponed to July.
Mill and trade sources, however, said the deliveries of magnesium and silicon metal used for cansheet production have not been affected.
The rolling mills typically buy around 20-100 mt/month of each metal on a three-month contract from local traders, who import from China on a spot basis.
"Cansheet demand swings according to temperatures. There are worries, but I would not agree about output dropping significantly. If it becomes hot, cansheet output will ramp up," the Tokyo trader said.
Cansheet shipments are usually the highest in July, at roughly 43,000-45,000 mt.
Japan's May cansheet shipments were 40,201 mt and some sources fear the June shipments may fall short of 43,000 mt due to the weather.
Since June, rain has hit once every two weekends in the most populous Tokyo area which has discouraged outdoor activities as well as sales of beer and carbonated drinks.
Some areas in south Japan marked record high rainfall during the month.
"You have a steamy day and the next day it is cold. Alternate cold and hot days make it hard to plan ahead," a mill source said.
Meanwhile, cansheet exports from Japan to Thailand and other Asian countries have also slowed recently due to increased competition from South Korean mills, a Tokyo trader said.
Japan exports 14,000-18,000 mt/month of cansheet.
But not all cansheet makers are experiencing a slow start to the season, however.
One mill source said his plant is running at full rates and his company had turned down requests for additional orders.
Separately, the slow take-off of the beverage can season has affected smaller rolling mills that make plates and construction materials as can-focused mills are now focusing on their territory.
"The mills focused on cans are not running at full rates, so they are making plates and construction materials they don't usually make at this time of the year," said one end-user source.
Run rates at his plant, which is focused on machinery components, have fallen by around 30% from the planned level, the source added.
Sources said most rolling mills have been scrambling for new businesses as demand, with the exception of the automotive sector, has weakened in June due to currency fluctuations hitting Japanese exports, and some rolling mills have requested June aluminum ingot deliveries to be postponed to July.
Mill and trade sources, however, said the deliveries of magnesium and silicon metal used for cansheet production have not been affected.
The rolling mills typically buy around 20-100 mt/month of each metal on a three-month contract from local traders, who import from China on a spot basis.
"Cansheet demand swings according to temperatures. There are worries, but I would not agree about output dropping significantly. If it becomes hot, cansheet output will ramp up," the Tokyo trader said.
Cansheet shipments are usually the highest in July, at roughly 43,000-45,000 mt.
Previous article
Accurate Aluminum offers aluminum installations and fabrication services
Next articleTaha is awarded major Oman plant contract
Grow with
AL Circle
