New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Reallocates Orders To Help Japanese Customers

WELLINGTON, Mar 31, 2011 (Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex) -- New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Ltd. is reallocating and reprioritizing customer orders to help Japanese customers whose operations are affected by the earthquake, the company said Friday.

Ryan Cavanagh, the company's general manager, said that while the company was already running at full capacity, it was "reprioritizing and reallocating our customer orders to assist where we can."

The company had been asked by two customers, one of which was Kobe Steel Ltd. (5406.TO), for additional products, particularly rolling block and high purity ingots, Cavanagh said.

"We are continuing to work with our customers in Japan who have short-term issues in demand, but the uncertainty of power supply in Japan makes it difficult for customers to forecast their usage," Cavanagh said. "One of the biggest issues for our Japanese customers will be power supply, with scheduled power outages now underway. It is still too early to say how much of an impact this will have."

In the longer term, the rebuilding and start of construction is expected to be positive for the aluminum industry, he added.

New Zealand Aluminium Smelters is 79.4% owned by Rio Tinto Alcan and 20.6% owned by Japan's Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. (4005.TO).

The company, based at Tiwai Pt, at the very south of New Zealand's South Island, exports around NZ$1 billion (US$7.6 billion) of aluminum products each year, with around 60% going to Japan.