6 Pop Songs Great for Audio Demos
Worst DIY Installs Ever Part 7
10 Must-Have Products for Your Next Install
6 Amazing High-End Home Theaters
Print
Email
Comments (0)
Share
Price of Neodymium Drops 33%
In the summer of 2011, manufacturers faced massive 1400% hikes in price of neodymium, which is used to make loudspeaker drivers. Recently, prices have dropped by one-third.
Remember the threat last summer that prices for loudspeakers were about to skyrocket due to the monopolistic stranglehold on cost of "rare earth metals? Back then, the price had elevated by more than 1400 percent.
Well, dealers, manufacturers and consumers are breathing a little easier as the international market forces have driven down the price of neodymium by 33 percent from its high.
The price of neodymium, which is used to make speaker drivers due to its highly magnetic properties, was putting pressure on manufacturers to raise their prices. But the price hikes forced manufacturers in many electronics sectors, including smartphones, computers, TVs and wind turbines, to look for alternative metals for their products, according to The New York Times.
In June 2011, the price of neodymium had risen to RMB 1.4 million per ton from RMB 100,000 per ton since the end of 2008, according to a survey by the 21st Century Business Herald.
Today, according to The New York Times, rare earth speculators have been dumping their inventories as demand decreased. The price today for Cerium-based metals averages $45 to $60 per kilogram. That price had peaked at $170/kilogram in August 2011. The prices are still much higher than they were four years ago when these rare earth metals average just $6/kilogram.
China mines 94 percent of the rare earth metals in the world, says The New York Times.
Well, dealers, manufacturers and consumers are breathing a little easier as the international market forces have driven down the price of neodymium by 33 percent from its high.
The price of neodymium, which is used to make speaker drivers due to its highly magnetic properties, was putting pressure on manufacturers to raise their prices. But the price hikes forced manufacturers in many electronics sectors, including smartphones, computers, TVs and wind turbines, to look for alternative metals for their products, according to The New York Times.
In June 2011, the price of neodymium had risen to RMB 1.4 million per ton from RMB 100,000 per ton since the end of 2008, according to a survey by the 21st Century Business Herald.
Today, according to The New York Times, rare earth speculators have been dumping their inventories as demand decreased. The price today for Cerium-based metals averages $45 to $60 per kilogram. That price had peaked at $170/kilogram in August 2011. The prices are still much higher than they were four years ago when these rare earth metals average just $6/kilogram.
China mines 94 percent of the rare earth metals in the world, says The New York Times.
Subscribe to the CE Pro Newsletter
About the Author
Jason Knott, Editor, CE Pro
Jason has covered low-voltage electronics as an editor since 1990. He joined EH Publishing in 2000, and before that served as publisher and editor of Security Sales, a leading magazine for the security industry. He served as chairman of the Security Industry Association’s Education Committee from 2000-2004 and sat on the board of that association from 1998-2002. He is also a former board member of the Alarm Industry Research and Educational Foundation. He is currently a member of the CEDIA Education Action Team for Electronic Systems Business. Jason graduated from the University of Southern California.
Post a comment