Tokyo (Platts)--18Dec2012/518 am EST/1018 GMT

Japanese aluminum auto shred scrap suppliers are eyeing exports as local demand has slowed on the back of falling car production since October, market sources said Tuesday.

Spot inquiries for scrap aluminum exported from Japan to Asian countries rise at this time of the year as scrap yards close in regions experiencing snowfall, tightening global supplies.

In addition to seasonal beverage cans and window frames scrap that comprise over half of Japanese scrap aluminum exports, scrap dealers have started to export engine and auto shred scrap, as Japanese automakers cutting output since October have hit demand.

"Engine and auto shreds were not exported because they were going straight to local secondary aluminum alloy smelters working closely with the automakers," said one local scrap dealer. "But alloy demand has fallen particularly in the Kanto region due to the recent slump in car production," he added.

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"Demand [for scrap] stays good in central Japan [around Nagoya City], but the cost of trucking scrap to central Japan from the Kanto region is equivalent to shipping it for export," the dealer added.

Auto shred scrap, also known as twitch, is traded at Yen 140 ($1.66)/kg ex-yard in Japan, two dealers said. The export price comes to Yen 155/kg including management and documentation fees, or $1,845/mt FOB. Scrap of similar grade is trading near $1,900/mt in the overseas markets, said a second dealer.

"There were several 50-100 mt deals done [at above $1,850/mt FOB] recently, to South Korea, Thailand and China," the dealer said.

Japanese scrap prices are revised twice a month reflecting changes in the London Metal Exchange high-grade aluminum price moves and demand, according to industry sources.

Auto shred scrap prices, however, stayed more or less flat at Yen 140/kg ex-plant in the second half of December from earlier in the month, and engine scrap also remained at Yen 130-140/kg ex-plant, due to poor demand, dealers said.

Japan exported 111,243 mt of scrap aluminum over January-October 2012, up from 90,981 mt in the same months last year, according to Japanese customs data.

JAPAN SCRAPPING MORE CARS

Japan's supply of automotive scrap is on the rise as the number of dismantled cars increased this year, on the back of more scrapped cars from earthquake-hit northeast Japan and the government subsidies boosting passenger car sales, according to Japan Automobile Recycling Promotion Center or JARC.

The government subsidy program to promote fuel-efficient vehicles ended in September.

Japan has scrapped 3.1 million passenger and commercial vehicles in total from January to November, up 19.9% from a year ago, according to JARC. One vehicle typically generates over 250 kg of aluminum scrap, said traders.

JARC forecasts 1.2 million more vehicles to be scrapped over December to March 2013, up roughly 10% from 1.1 million vehicles a year ago.

"There were many cars destroyed immediately after the March 11 earthquake last year, but they did not get dismantled as there were other reconstruction priorities in the northeast region," said JARC data general manager Muneo Fujita. "Also used cars that were going to scrap yards were transported to disaster-hit areas in need. Now the area is slowly reconstructing. The government subsidy program also helped to speed up replacing old cars with new," he added.

It takes roughly 30 days for cars to dismantle into various recycled resources, Fujita added.

--Mayumi Watanabe, mayumi_watanabe@platts.com
--Edited by Geetha Narayanasamy, geetha_narayanasamy@platts.com

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