Fastmarkets explores two key emerging battery chemistries and whether they have the ability to alleviate battery material supply challenges

Fastmarkets has launched two new synthetic graphite feedstock prices for the spot Chinese market on Wednesday July 26.

NextSource has begun flake graphite production at its Molo mine in Madagascar ahead of a potential bottleneck in natural and synthetic graphite anode material produced outside of China, executive vice president Brent Nykoliation told Fastmarkets

Much of the focus in the manganese sulfate market is now on the development of a supply chain outside of China, Fastmarkets understands

Dramatic changes are expected in the Japanese steel industry in the run-up to 2030, with exports of ferrous scrap expected to fall and local use of the material to soar amid the transition away from traditional blast furnace (BF) technology toward greater electric-arc furnace (EAF) capacity

The US was last a net exporter in offshore softwood lumber trade from 2009 through 2016, but Fastmarkets’ forecast predicts that the South will lead a surge from 2023 onwards

Poor newsprint demand continues to push down prices and triggers further capacity cuts

The US ferrous scrap market remains in limbo ahead of August’s ferrous trade, with participants divided as to whether summer demand from the domestic and export markets will tip the balance of extremely low scrap flows in US sellers’ favor next month

Sometimes regarded as the “forgotten” battery material, attention towards manganese has increased drastically as participants seek to localize supply chains and ramp up battery production to meet growing demand

China’s domestic stainless steel prices were flat over the week ending Wednesday July 19 amid weak demand, but some participants expected the central government to release stimulus policies for manufacturers to push up stainless steel demand