2025-10-15
As a strategically critical resource, tungsten plays an indispensable role in machinery manufacturing, chemicals, new energy, high-end equipment, and other key sectors. Its unique properties make it difficult to substitute. Among its derivatives, tungsten carbide (WC) stands out—a compound of tungsten and carbon renowned for its exceptional hardness, high melting point, and superior wear resistance. Often referred to as the “Teeth of Industry”, tungsten carbide is vital to modern industrial applications.
Since the beginning of 2025, tungsten prices have shown a volatile upward trend. By September, prices had surged to record highs, marking an increase of at least 90% compared to the start of the year.
Specifically:
Tungsten concentrate (≥65%): Up 101.4% year-to-date
Ammonium paratungstate (APT): Up 97.2% year-to-date
Tungsten powder: Up 95% year-to-date
From February to March, policy restrictions began to limit tungsten mining development. Throughout the first three quarters, a combination of contracted supply and speculative capital inflows has driven prices to persistently high levels. Although there were occasional minor corrections, tungsten pricing has entered a new era—shaped by supply constraints, surging demand, global geopolitical dynamics, and financial market activities.
While market reactions often lag, the impact of rising raw material costs began to ripple across the industrial chain in the second quarter, placing significant pressure on tungsten carbide products manufacturers.
In most tungsten carbide products, raw material costs account for approximately 70% of the total product cost. For products such as blanks, this proportion is even higher. In this environment, price adjustments for TC products have become an unavoidable necessity.
All has led to a challenging landscape: upstream players are tightening control and holding back supply, while midstream manufacturers are caught in the squeeze—striving to adapt and seeking pathways to resilience.
In response to this year’s market crisis, our company, Zigong Xingyu, has taken proactive and decisive action, committed to finding win-win solutions with our customers. Internally, we are driving strict cost control, process optimization, and innovative R&D to absorb part of the cost pressure. We firmly believe that simply passing on cost increases is not a sustainable strategy. Instead, we choose to share the burden and navigate these challenging times together.
Only through collaboration and mutual support can we emerge stronger from this period of uncertainty.
