Tungsten prices have surged more than fourfold in over a year, marking a critical period for industry chain transformation

Recently, companies across the tungsten industry chain have launched a new round of price adjustments, covering tungsten raw materials (including long-term contracts), tungsten alloy tools, tungsten scrap recycling, and other sectors. Multiple companies stated in their price adjustment letters that the rise in tungsten prices remains the main reason for this round of price hikes. As of February 28, the prices of major tungsten products such as tungsten concentrate, ammonium paratungstate (APT), and tungsten powder have all increased by more than 400% compared to the beginning of 2025.

"It's no longer called tungsten steel, but 'tungsten gold' now." Facing the continuous surge in tungsten prices, the head of a tool manufacturing company complained that tool processing companies are now like "sandwich cookies," with upstream raw material prices changing daily and quotations valid for only one day, leading to continuously rising procurement costs.

The overall price surge in the industry is not only affecting the operations of related companies but is also driving the entire industry chain to accelerate its transformation. Several industry insiders interviewed stated that, against this backdrop, upstream mining companies are speeding up resource reserves and production efficiency improvements, while midstream and downstream companies are clearly differentiating under cost pressures, having to absorb the pressure through technological upgrades and process optimization.

Tungsten Prices Repeatedly Hit New Highs; "Uneven Heat" Across the Industry Chain

As an indispensable core material in modern industry, tungsten is known as the "teeth of industry" and is widely used in engineering machinery, metal cutting machine tools, automobile manufacturing, electronic information, aerospace, military, and other fields.

Since 2025, the prices of major domestic tungsten products have started an unprecedented upward trend, with increases exceeding market expectations. According to China Tungsten Online, in February this year, the Chinese tungsten market continued to show a strong upward momentum. Except for the first three days of the Spring Festival holiday when the market stabilized, the prices of major tungsten raw material products generally jumped by 10,000 to 60,000 yuan per day, with a monthly increase of 30% and a cumulative annual increase of nearly 80%.

A survey by Shanghai Securities News found that, amid the sustained rise in tungsten prices, upstream and downstream companies in the tungsten industry chain are showing a distinct "uneven heat" phenomenon, with resource reserves and scale advantages becoming key factors for companies to cope with price fluctuations.

On one hand, upstream mining companies with tungsten resources and smelting capabilities are the direct beneficiaries of rising tungsten prices. Xiamen Tungsten, Zhangyuan Tungsten, Xianglu Tungsten, and other upstream miners have recently issued performance forecasts for 2025, with core growth drivers mainly coming from tungsten price increases and industry chain synergy. Zhangyuan Tungsten stated that during the reporting period, the supply of tungsten raw materials was tight, market demand increased, and tungsten raw material prices rose sharply. The company fully leveraged its synergy across the entire tungsten industry chain, achieving significant growth in both revenue and net profit in 2025.

On the other hand, under the impact of tungsten price fluctuations, differentiation in the downstream tool industry continues to intensify. Leading companies, with ample funds and scale effects, can buffer and smooth out cost volatility through product price increases; meanwhile, some small and medium-sized enterprises face the dual challenge of limited funds and insufficient inventory, and are forced to cut production and adopt a wait-and-see approach, with some even exiting the market.

The aforementioned tool manufacturing company executive stated that current tool processing companies are like "sandwich cookies," with upstream raw material prices changing daily and procurement costs rising continuously; meanwhile, downstream machining companies are unable to fully accept product price increases in one go, keeping corporate cost pressures high.

Multiple Catalysts: Supply-Demand Imbalance Leads to "A Price a Day"

Why have tungsten prices soared? Supply-demand imbalance has become a common consensus among industry chain companies and market institutions.

"Since 2025, the global tungsten industry chain's supply-demand imbalance has intensified, compounded by policy controls, demand surges, and other factors. Prices of tungsten powder, cobalt powder, and tungsten carbide powder have continued to rise, repeatedly hitting record highs," Huarui Precision stated in its price adjustment letter. Xiamen Tungsten pointed out that demand has surged suddenly while supply has yet to catch up, resulting in a short-term supply-demand imbalance.

Against this backdrop, repeated price adjustments by industry chain companies have further fueled bullish market sentiment.

Recently, Zhangyuan Tungsten, Xianglu Tungsten, Huarui Precision, Xinrui Co., and others have successively issued new round price adjustment notices, raising long-term contract prices for tungsten raw materials and tool product prices. Among them, Huarui Precision has adjusted prices four times since December 2025.

"Frequent price adjustments are a matter of necessity," Huarui Precision stated. The company is currently operating at full capacity and will continue to focus on R&D and improving production efficiency to do its utmost to control costs.

The head of a tungsten material recycling company in Hunan bluntly stated that the current increase in waste tungsten prices is astonishing, basically presenting "a price a day." For example, the recycling price of waste tungsten steel milling cutters was about 200 yuan/kg in March 2025, but has now exceeded 1,000 yuan/kg, an almost fivefold increase and a record high.

The surge in tungsten prices has also been transmitted to the tungsten chemicals sector. Previously, South Korean tungsten hexafluoride manufacturers such as SK Specialty and Foosung collectively announced that they have notified downstream semiconductor companies like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix of a 70% to 90% price increase for some tungsten hexafluoride products starting in 2026.

According to industry analysts, non-ferrous processing companies generally adopt a "raw material price + processing fee" pricing model. The sustained high tungsten prices have greatly increased the capital cost of procurement for enterprises. At the same time, the market remains optimistic about future tungsten price trends, with sellers reluctant to sell and waiting for higher prices, while downstream buyers are sometimes "unable to buy goods even with money," leading to subdued market transactions and intensifying industry chain bargaining.

Meeting New Demand: The Industry Chain Faces a Key Period of Transformation

China is the world's largest tungsten producer. Several interviewed industry insiders said that with domestic quota controls, environmental production restrictions, and strategic stockpiling squeezing supply, while emerging demand from photovoltaics, AI, and new energy continues to grow, the tight supply-demand balance is unlikely to change in the short term. It is expected that tungsten prices will remain high for some time, and the industry chain may enter a critical stage of ecosystem restructuring and upgrade optimization.

"The more expensive the raw materials, the more valuable cost reduction through technology becomes. Now, the price gap is small, so the competition is all about product strength and service," said a head of a tool manufacturing company. The rise in raw material prices has, to some extent, passively moved the industry away from previous low-price competition models, allowing companies to focus on R&D upgrades to meet customer needs.

Okeqiyi stated in its latest disclosed investor relations activity minutes that, against the backdrop of continuous raw material price increases, the tool industry will accelerate into a phase of deep adjustment and transformation. The price rise forces downstream customers to pay more attention to tool processing efficiency, lifespan, and stability, which helps companies with technological and service advantages to stand out. The industry's competitive logic will shift from a "price war" to a "value war."

Currently, the end-use scenarios for tungsten are continuously expanding, particularly in the photovoltaic and new energy vehicle fields.

A research report by Jianghai Securities shows that, in the photovoltaic sector, tungsten wire has fully entered a stage of explosive large-scale application. By 2025, the market penetration rate of tungsten wire diamond wire in silicon wafer cutting has exceeded 60%. It is estimated that in 2026, the global new HJT (heterojunction) installed capacity will reach 80 GW, directly driving new tungsten demand of about 6,400 tons.

Upstream mining companies are also accelerating resource integration and efficiency improvements. In February this year, Xiamen Tungsten announced its intention to acquire part of the equity of Jiujiang Dadi Mining Development Co., Ltd. and achieve a controlling stake. The purpose of this acquisition is to increase the company's mineral resource reserves, improve the self-sufficiency rate of raw materials, and reduce raw material procurement risks.

Source: Shanghai Securities News