SMM Analysis on China November NdFeB Production and December Forecast

In November 2024, domestic production of NdFeB magnetic materials slightly declined by approximately 1% MoM. According to an SMM survey, orders for magnetic materials showed weak growth, with most small and medium-sized enterprises seeing limited order increases and insufficient market demand support. However, some large enterprises had relatively sufficient orders, and overall production remained active. Nevertheless, severe price suppression by downstream customers squeezed profit margins, leading some enterprises to accept only small and scattered orders to control the risk of losses. At the same time, some enterprises pointed out that downstream order growth in December is expected to only offset the decrease in orders from the two-wheeled vehicle market, with overall market order growth likely remaining limited and enterprises lacking confidence in the future market. Currently, market sentiment is clearly cautious. However, industry insiders revealed that due to the expected logistics suspension in mid-January, downstream customers might concentrate on stockpiling in December to meet Chinese New Year demand. Therefore, SMM expects NdFeB production in December to possibly rebound, but the increase is expected to be relatively small.