from Simon Frost
Modern industries and high technology are not possible without raw materials such as rare earths. Even if prices are currently falling: the risks for companies remain. This is also due to the countries of origin.
The prices for raw materials will fluctuate strongly in the coming years. Despite the recent drop in costs for numerous industrial and precious metals as well as for Crude oil the price risks for the economy persist. Experts from the German Mineral Resources Agency (Dera), who discussed the results of their most recent raw materials monitoring with other researchers in Berlin-Spandau on Thursday, came to this conclusion. Companies therefore present short-term fluctuations with problems. Buyers could barely plan the internal production costs, said Andreas Rathgeber of the Institute of Materials Resource Management at the University of Augsburg.
"This can lead to competitive disadvantages."
How do supply and demand and prices on the world market develop which supply risks exist, what does that mean for the processing companies: Dera, part of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources in Hanover, is supposed to show the industry new options for action.
China dominates many markets
A large number of raw materials, which are indispensable for industrial and high-tech products, still predominantly come from a few emerging and developing countries. A major role is played by China. The dominance in the promotion of rare earths and thus the impact on the markets for mineral raw materials is according to Dera "still extremely high".
Germany, as one of the largest industrial countries, has enormous raw material hunger. But it can not even cover a quarter of its own needs. What is missing are, above all, raw materials for the future: industrial minerals, rare earths and ores, without which no mobile phone rings, no wind turbine turns.
Platinum could experience a boom
In addition to China, it is above all countries in Africa or South America that supply the world with these raw materials. Because of the political and social conditions it comes there often to conflicts, "Such markets carry risks for price peaks and delivery failures," said Dera CEO Peter Buchholz. The buyers of raw materials - tech companies such as Apple - are in the developed countries under public scrutiny. The next boom raw materials are already foreseeable.
Toyota is putting the first standard fuel cell car into salesrooms these days. If a mass market is created, it will have a considerable impact on the platinum market, the researchers are certain. There platinum is barely dispensable as a catalyst.
Source: http://www.tagesspiegel.de/wirtschaft/kein-iphone-ohne-seltene-erden-schwankende-rohstoffpreise-machen-firmen-probleme/11109208.html
