NEW YORK — North American aluminum orders rose in October, with can sheet experiencing the largest uptick, according to Davenport & Co. LLC data based seasonally adjusted figures from the Aluminum Association.

October orders rose 5.3 percent from September, with can sheet jumping 13.3 percent month over month.

Excluding can sheet, orders remained mostly flat last month, rising 1 percent over September.

This modest growth, which was slower than it was in 2011 and 2010, is largely due to low aluminum prices, which are “causing customers, namely service centers, to reduce inventories for most products,” analysts with Richmond, Va.-based Davenport said.

Three-month aluminum closed Monday’s trading day at $1,949 per tonne, down 17 percent from this year’s high of $2,349 per tonne in late February.

Lackluster economic activity is also causing slower-than-expected orders, Davenport says.

Sheet and plate orders rose 7.7 percent month over month, while extruded shapes bumped up 4.4 percent. Foil declined by 0.9 percent.