WHAT IS NEODYMIUM AND WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?

The average American consumer probably has never heard of neodymium. But that substance — along with other so-called rare earth elements — is essential to the functioning of technologies we take for granted on a daily basis.

Rare-earths refer to 17 naturally occurring chemical elements on the periodic table. Despite the name, they aren’t particularly rare, existing in relative abundance in the earth’s crust. Cerium, an oxidizing agent, is as plentiful as copper, while radioactive promethium is the least common.

These elements typically occur together in nature and are difficult to separate from one another. The mining process is costly, time-consuming, and often involves a technique known as open-pit mining that creates huge holes and disrupts the surrounding ecosystem. Such a process was used at mountain pass, the last remaining US rare-earth mine before it was shuttered in 2002.

In a drastic shift, the US went from being the leading producer of rare-earths to having no active mines. China has since filled the void, producing over 97 percent of the world’s supply — a virtual monopoly and invaluable bargaining chip.

This is important to remember as tensions mount between the US and China over trade; the US currently relies on China to supply elements without which our cars, microwaves, televisions, and smart-phones could not operate.

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Global High Performance NdFeB industry trends and forecast of supply and demand in 2017

In 2016, the total output of NdFeB was about 146 thousand tons, of which China's NdFeB production capacity was about 130 thousand tons, accounting for 89% of the world. On the specific varieties, the current sintered NdFeB material occupies NdFeB major market, accounting for about 94%. 2001 - in 2016, the average annual growth rate of global sintered NdFeB was 16%. In 2015, the global demand for high performance NdFeB was about 54 thousand and 700 tons, an increase of 12% compared with the same period. It is estimated that the industry demand will reach 92 thousand tons by 2020, with an average annual growth rate of around 12%. At present, the total capacity of NdFeB in China is as high as 300 thousand tons, and the vast majority of excess production capacity is concentrated in the low-end consumption areas of ndfeb. The manufacturing technology of NdFeB is very complicated, and it needs a long time of technology accumulation to obtain stable quality an...

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2017年全球高性能钕铁硼行业发展趋势及市场供需预测来源：中国投资咨询网　　 2016 年全球钕铁硼总产量为 14.6 万吨左右，其中，中国钕铁硼产能为 13 万吨左右，占全球的比例为 89%。就具体品种看，当前烧结钕铁硼材料占据钕铁硼主要市场，占比为 94%左右。2001——2016 年全球烧结钕铁硼产量的年均复合增长率为 16%。　　数据来源：公开资料整理　　2015 年全球高性能钕铁硼需求约 5.47 万吨，同比增加 12%，预计到 2020 年行业需求将达到 9.2 万吨，年均复合增速为 12%左右。目前国内钕铁硼的总产能高达 30 万吨，过剩的产能绝大部分集中在钕铁硼的低端消费领域。　　钕铁硼制造工艺繁琐，需要长时间的技术积累才能获得稳定的质量和较高的成材率。另外，汽车 EPS 领域对安全性能的要求高，因此产品质量要求高，进入供应链需要经过周期长达 2 年以上的质量认证。总体而言，稳定的竞争格局和壁垒的存在避免了无序的竞争，也保证了钕铁硼制造商在行业环境差的时候依然保持一定盈利能力。　　1、钕铁硼在传统汽车的主要应用为 EPS 转向系统。每台 EPS 系统需 0.15kg 钕铁硼成品磁体，折合毛坯 0.25kg 左右，以全球 2016 年汽车产量 9498 万辆和 EPS 系统 50%的渗透率计算，全球 EPS 系统毛坯钕铁硼消费量至少在 1.18 万吨。汽车的转向系统对汽车操纵稳定性和安全性起着关键的作用。HPS 转向系统是靠发动机驱动，液压助力，该系统技术成熟，但是部件多、体积大、重量重。EPS 转向系统完全由电子控制伺服电机驱动，具有结构紧凑、高效可靠、节能环保、安全性高等多重优点，未来将逐步替代 HPS 系统已经成为了市场的共识。　　随着中高端车型对汽车的稳定性和安全性要求的提高，EPS 在全球传统汽车中的渗透率逐步从 2010 年的 9%增加至当前的 50%左右。EPS 系统在国内汽车中的渗透率目前为 40-45%之间，而欧美市场 EPS 的渗透率已经在 80%以上，日本更是达到了 90%，因此，国内的 EPS 市场还有很大的增长空间。根据以下假设条件：1）2017 和 2018 年国内汽车年产量同比增速为 5%，全球汽车年产量同比增速为 4%；2）国内...

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