Tungsten Prices Surge 6-7x in One Year as Japan's Tungsten Fluoride Production Line Halts from July
Alina Collins
A year into China's tungsten export controls, prices have surged six- to sevenfold. Two major Japanese WF₆ producers are halting output from July — roughly a quarter of global supply is about to go dark, and the shortage is now reaching chipmaking.
What exactly is Japan shutting down?
Kanto Denka Kogyo and Central Glass are expected to stop producing tungsten hexafluoride (WF₆) from July 1, with combined capacity of roughly 2,000 tonnes.
WF₆ is a precursor gas used to deposit tungsten metal layers on wafers — without it, critical conductive layers in chips cannot be formed.
Japan accounts for about 25% of global WF₆ supply. This means → it is not a marginal exit; a quarter of the world's capacity is disappearing.
Why can't Japanese producers hold on?
The root cause is upstream: China controls an estimated 80% of global midstream tungsten smelting and processing. Export-license controls imposed in February 2025 cut off high-purity tungsten powder at the source.
In plain terms = Japan's raw-material lifeline has been severed — even willing producers cannot secure enough feedstock.
Pricing compounds the pressure: Chinese firms such as Peric Specialty Gases reportedly quote at roughly half the international price, squeezing Japanese margins and accelerating the decision to exit.
How far has the shortage spread?
Tungsten prices have risen six- to sevenfold in roughly a year — far beyond typical industrial-metal volatility.
Fujifilm Fine Chemicals said in April that cemented-carbide materials may last only until June; those products represent about 30% of its revenue and face curtailment or shutdown.
This reflects a shortage that is no longer confined to ore and smelting — it is cascading link by link, from powder to gas, gas to chips, chips to end devices.
Can recycling fill the gap?
Lianyou Metals chairman Wu Yong-chung says recycling and reuse is the most effective response available today. The company recovers 3,000 tonnes of tungsten metal annually, holding roughly 15% of the market outside China.
Wu notes that Chinese tungsten prices have visibly decoupled from international markets; some shipments have switched from sea freight to air freight. This means → buyers are paying multiples in logistics costs to secure material — a direct measure of how acute the crunch has become.
Lianyou is pivoting toward higher-value products, planning to expand capacity in ammonium paratungstate, tungsten oxide, tungsten powder, and tungsten carbide, with a target of doubling output.
Who can clear the semiconductor-grade bar?
Entering the semiconductor sputtering-target supply chain requires tungsten powder purity of 5N (99.999%) — in plain terms = only ten impurity atoms per million are allowed.
Lianyou has included purification-capacity upgrades in its expansion plan, but the distance from lab-grade purity to stable mass production remains significant.
This reflects the real test of supply-chain restructuring: it is not whether tungsten exists outside China, but whether anyone can refine it to chip-grade purity — the litmus test for this round of materials localization.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.