In September, the export volume of rare earth permanent magnets slightly decreased MoM. Will future market demand increase significantly? [SMM Analysis]

According to customs statistics, in September 2024, China's export volume of rare earth permanent magnets was 4,915 mt, down 8% MoM.

Some magnetic material enterprises reported that the export volume of rare earth permanent magnets increased significantly in August, with sufficient stockpiling in the overseas market. However, in September, the overall demand in the foreign trade market was slightly insufficient, and end-use customers generally believed that the order situation was poor. This led to a reduction in stockpiling in the overseas market, resulting in a decrease in the export volume of domestic permanent magnets.

According to customs data, the export volume of rare earth permanent magnets from January to September 2024 only increased by 6% YoY.

Overall market conditions show that the demand for rare earths in downstream end-use sectors has increased compared to 2023. Leading enterprises in the magnetic material market revealed that orders in the new energy sector are gradually increasing. Due to large enterprises having stable customer bases and mature production technologies, they can maintain stable production. However, this year, due to the increase in the number of magnetic material enterprises and overcapacity issues, market competition has become extremely fierce, with small and medium-sized enterprises seeing a continuous reduction in order volumes, leading to significant market polarization.

In summary, since most magnetic material enterprises have orders only sufficient for production until mid-November, the overall market order growth is relatively slow, and the performance of foreign trade market orders is also unsatisfactory. SMM predicts that in October, the export volume of rare earth permanent magnets may not increase significantly.