RARE EARTHS
Rare earths are a group of 17 chemical elements of the periodic table considered strategic material for the production of permanent magnets used in many industrial sectors.
In particular, sintered neodymium magnets (NdFeB) are the most popular on the market.
The alternative magnetic materials available can be samarium-cobalt, compressed plasto-neodymium and injected plasto-neodymium (bonded and injection molding), also available on ferrite base, and magnetic materials in aluminum-nickel-cobalt (AlNiCo).
LATEST UPDATES
We inform our customers that rare earths prices are currently at the highest levels recorded in recent years and continue to rise.
The magnets price, especially in sintered neodymium (NdFeB), is growing daily and it is very difficult to forecast the trend for the next few weeks.
The situation of Chinese permanent magnet factories is particularly unstable. For reasons related to the high demand for electricity in China, the factories are urged by the Central Government to stop production a few days a week, thus slowing down production rates and postponing already scheduled deliveries.
Colleagues at our Chinese headquarters in Ningbo are monitoring the situation regarding raw materials and the slowdown in production rates on a daily basis, to promptly inform us for new changes.
In the meantime, we recommend planning the most urgent orders, in order to ensure proper supply continuity, and sending us the forecasts for the year 2022 so as to be ready when rare earth prices return to stable levels.
Some indications, coming from the raw materials market, indicate that prices could continue to increase until the Chinese New Year (February 2022), a period in which, as usual, production will see a medium-long time “stop”.
We remain at your complete disposal for further information on the matter.
Below it’s showed the main raw materials update prices used for rare earth magnets production. The permanent magnets cost as a finished product is inevitably influenced by the trend in the raw materials price, indicated in RMB / Ton in the following graphs.
Dysprosium Alloy – Iron:
Praseodynium – Neodymium Alloy:
Cobalt:
