IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘World – Permanent Magnets – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends, and Insights.’ Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

With the development of the electric car and electronic technology industry, the demand for permanent magnets shows significant growth. Thanks to government subsidies, China continues to maintain low market prices for permanent magnets and dominate the export market.

Key Trends and Insights

The permanent magnet market predicts significant growth in the coming years due to the rapid development of consuming industries: electric vehicles, wind turbines, electronics, household appliances. The highest demand is for high-performance and lightweight neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) magnets.

The expansion of the permanent magnet industry will be driven mainly by China’s consuming industries’ growth. According to the China State Council’s New Energy Vehicles (NEV) Industry Development Plan, NEV will account for 20% of the country’s total vehicle sales by 2025, up from a market share of just 4.7% in 2019. This will lead to a significant increase in the need for permanent magnets. In one NEV, permanent magnets are used 2-3 times more by weight than in a car with an internal combustion engine.

The widespread adoption of telecommunication technologies drives electronics production, which also stimulates the market for permanent magnets. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the production of tablet computers increased by 33% in January-September 2020.

Subsidies from the Chinese government to the industry help the country keep prices on permanent magnets down, making the imported products uncompetitive on the local market.

The US government has also begun to actively subsidize the rare earth and permanent magnet industries to reduce dependence on Chinese imports.

China Is Set to Dominate the Permanent Magnets Exports

In 2019, the global permanent magnet market increased by 2.6% to $7.6B, rising for the third consecutive year after two years of decline. The market value increased at an average annual rate of +1.2% from 2012 to 2019.

In value terms, the largest permanent magnet markets worldwide were China ($1.5B), the U.S. ($866M), and Germany ($513M), with a combined 37% share of the global market. Indonesia, Canada, the Philippines, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Viet Nam, Thailand, India, and Italy lagged, together comprising a further 34% (IndexBox estimates).

The countries with the highest levels of permanent magnet per capita consumption in 2019 were Germany (346 units per 1000 persons), Canada (275 units per 1000 persons), and Thailand (251 units per 1000 persons).

From 2012 to 2019, the most notable growth rate in terms of permanent magnet per capita consumption amongst the key consuming countries was attained by the Philippines, while permanent magnet per capita consumption for the other global leaders experienced more modest growth.

In value terms, China ($2.5B) remains the largest permanent magnet supplier worldwide, comprising 51% of global exports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by Japan ($541M), with an 11% share of global exports. It was followed by Germany, with a 6.9% share (IndexBox estimates).

From 2012 to 2019, the average annual growth rate in terms of value in China was relatively modest. The remaining exporting countries recorded the following average annual export growth rates: Japan (-7.4% per year) and Germany (-1.8% per year).

There were significant differences in the average prices amongst the major importing countries. In 2019, the country with the highest price was the U.S. ($20 per unit), while Indonesia ($3.3 per unit) was amongst the lowest.

Driven by increasing demand for permanent magnets worldwide, the market is expected to continue an upward consumption trend over the next decade. Market performance is forecast to retain its current trend pattern, expanding with an anticipated CAGR of +2.2% for the period from 2019 to 2030, projected to bring the market volume to 783M units by the end of 2030.

Source: IndexBox AI Platform