Japan’s aluminium rolled product shipments in 2023 fall to a 20-year low

According to the data shared by the Japan Aluminium Association, aluminium rolled product shipments in 2023 declined year-on-year by 6.5 per cent, reaching the lowest point in the past 20 years. The shipment volume through the year totalled 1,707,547 tonnes, falling below the levels observed during the COVID-19 disaster and the Lehman shock period in 2009, when the shipment volume was 1.72 million tonnes and 1.74 million tonnes, respectively.
Over the past six years, Japan’s aluminium rolled products shipment stood below 2 million tonnes. The downfall in Japan’s rolled product shipment in 2023 could be attributed to the slow production of construction materials and materials used for electronic communication equipment. The surge in automotive materials production, surpassing 200,000 tonnes for the first time in recorded history, could not rescue the rolled products shipment.