Supply Chain & Raw Materials

Section Summary - Overview

2024 has been a challenging year for raw material producers and the midstream, but a boon for anyone buying materials.

Major downstream manufacturers are accelerating vertical integration strategies and directly investing in raw materials

Supply growth has continued to overshoot demand, pushing prices down further.

China is the only major market to see raw material import growth in 2024.

Now many mining and refining operations – especially higher-cost ones – are curtailing supply, and adjusting CapEx to realign with demand growth.

However, investment continues to drive supply growth at a global level, with stakeholders keen to secure their positions in a bright future for battery raw materials.

Lithium demand from batteries is a long-term certainty, but the speed and scale at which it grows outside China is now at more risk than ever due to policy changes and industry pullbacks.

All battery raw materials are being thrifted over time, and – in the case of nickel and cobalt – being substituted out.

Extracted from the PDF; charts and images may read imperfectly.