Fastmarkets Metals and Mining

Automotive margins are under pressure and raw material costs are a big reason why. 📈 Price volatility in steel, aluminium and battery inputs is no longer an occasional disruption. For procurement and finance teams, it has become a constant planning challenge. When pricing assumptions are wrong, the consequences show up across the business: 🟣 Budget overruns as markets shift faster than internal models can track 🟣 Contract disputes driven by misaligned assumptions between buyers and suppliers 🟣 Forecasts that lose credibility when volatility accelerates The root cause is often the same: teams relying on supplier data or internal models without an independent view of where prices are and where they are heading. Fastmarkets provides verified price assessments and 24-month forecasts across the materials that matter most to automotive production, helping procurement, finance and strategy teams make decisions grounded in what the market is actually doing across both ICE and EV platforms. 🔗 Learn more: https://fmrkts.com/48AeX56 #AutomotiveIndustry #RawMaterials #EVs #Electrification #SupplyChain #Sustainability #OEMs #CostOptimization #MarketInsights #Fastmarkets

Competition in China’s EV market is relentless and that pressure is shaping how global leaders think about strategy. 🎯 In the latest episode of our Fast Forward podcast, Andrea Hotter speaks with Stella. Li, Executive Vice President at BYD, who explains how intense competition and fast followers have pushed the company to keep raising the bar. What begins as imitation quickly becomes a catalyst: pushing BYD to move faster, innovate deeper and build stronger long‑term advantages. It’s a candid look at how “bleeding competition” in China is not just squeezing margins, but actively redefining what it takes to stay ahead in EVs, and why technological leadership can’t stand still. 🎧 Listen to the full conversation with Stella Li on Fast Forward to discover how competition, innovation and global expansion are shaping the future of mobility: https://fmrkts.com/4cT8wg9 #FastForwardPodcast #EVs #Automotive #BatteryTechnology #GlobalCompetition Fastmarkets Metals and Mining

Asian Battery Raw Materials & Recycling Conference has concluded, bringing together producers, refiners, OEMs, investors and policymakers from across Asia, Europe and the Americas, united by the conversations shaping the future of the battery value chain. The final day opened with a morning breakfast briefing on China's battery market outlook, before turning to some of the industry's most pressing geopolitical challenges. Ian Hiscock examined what escalating Middle East tensions mean for global battery supply chains and energy security, setting the stage for a wide-ranging panel on trade and geopolitics featuring Harendra Saksena (Ather Energy), Ross Gregory (New Electric Partners), Luke Allum (Project Blue), Raj Surendran (Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia) and Christian Barbier (CRB Resources). A highlight of the programme was a fireside chat between Francis Wedin (Vulcan Energy) and Paul Lusty (Fastmarkets), exploring lithium's transition — from price volatility and project recalibration to the long-term fundamentals shaping the next market cycle. Fastmarkets Focus sessions from Paul Lusty, Hui Zhang and Olivier Masson delivered market outlooks across rare earths, energy storage, nickel and cobalt, providing delegates with a forward-looking view of pricing dynamics and regional supply trends. The afternoon focused on sustainability and technology, with a panel on supply chain traceability and ESG performance across ASEAN featuring Georgios Chryssos (Stiftung GRS Batterien OfH), Pierre Derieux (Nickel Institute), Sybil Pan (Fastmarkets) and Danyi Feng (International Lithium Association (ILiA).  Over two days, conversations ranged from market risk and price formation to recycling, technology pathways and global supply chain strategy, offering a forward-looking view of the industry across APAC and beyond. Thank you to all sponsors, speakers, delegates and partners who made this year's conference a success. We look forward to continuing the conversation.  Explore what events are coming next in battery raw materials 👉 https://lnkd.in/dXQu_kjQ #FastmarketsABRM #ESS #EnergyTransition #BatteryRecycling

#Fastmarkets Asian Battery Raw Materials & Recycling Conference is underway, following an energising start across the pre-day site visit and a packed opening day in Hanoi. 🔋 Before the main conference began, delegates joined an exclusive tour of VinaCoreMax's nickel-sulphate processing facility just outside Hanoi, gaining a first-hand look at Vietnam's growing role in APAC's midstream and refining landscape. Day one brought together 200+ senior leaders, investors and policymakers from 25+ countries. Keynotes from (Sean) Chien Nguyen (VINFAST) and Philseok Kim (SK Innovation) bookended a full day of panels and presentations covering lithium market dynamics, battery supply chain resilience, Southeast Asia's strategic positioning and the future of recycling across APAC. Senior voices including Eugene Ho (CoreMax Corporation), John H. Kwon (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited), Sachin Patel (CME Group), Clyde Russell (Thomson Reuters), Antti Koulumies (Terrafame Ltd) and Shiquan Lin (Botree Recycling Technologies), alongside Robert Searle, Przemek Koralewski, Jingtai Lun and Lee Allen (Fastmarkets), shared perspectives on pricing, risk management, supply chain de-risking and circular economy solutions. The day concluded with networking drinks, with strong momentum heading into day two.  Explore what's on the agenda 👉 https://lnkd.in/ejaniSxi  #FastmarketsBRM #ESS #BatteryRawMaterials #CriticalMinerals

Reliable price signals are essential for decision‑making across the iron ore supply chain from producers and traders to mills and end‑users. Fastmarkets builds iron ore prices using trade‑aligned data, collected and assessed across the market and validated through a transparent methodology to ensure prices reflect real trading conditions and physical flows. 📈 Our steelmaking raw materials short‑term forecast provides insight into supply and demand, trade flows and key market dynamics across core steelmaking inputs. 🔽 Download a sample forecast: https://fmrkts.com/4edcAJ9 #IronOre #SupplyChain #MarketData #PriceDiscovery #Commodities #MetalsMarkets

Meet the leaders shaping the future of battery and energy storage.🔋 We’re proud to introduce the Advisory Board for Fastmarkets Battery & Energy Storage 2026, taking place 🗓️ June 23–25 📍in Las Vegas. As grid-scale energy storage deployment accelerates, the industry is facing new challenges around project financing, procurement, battery supply, pricing volatility and long-term performance. Our advisory board brings together senior leaders from across utilities, project development, investment and the battery supply chain to help shape an agenda grounded in real market dynamics. 📣 With experts including Paul Charles, Naphtal Haya, Viral Shah, Hui Zhang, Hassan Nadeem, Zamiyad Dar, Emily Burlinghaus, Nate Picarsic and Rohit Kumar, the board brings deep expertise across the value chain, from battery supply and manufacturing to project deployment, financing and strategy. Co-located with Fastmarkets Global Lithium, Battery & Critical Materials, the event connects upstream supply with downstream energy storage in one integrated week in Las Vegas. 🔗 Learn more: https://fmrkts.com/4cAXhsy #Fastmarkets #EnergyStorage #BatteryStorage #EnergyTransition

Raw materials are often the most underestimated driver of vehicle manufacturing costs. ⚙️ Steel, aluminum and battery inputs account for a significant share of total production spend. Even relatively small price movements can cascade across platforms, programs and margins. Yet many procurement teams are still expected to defend sourcing decisions using supplier data or internal models that lack independent validation. That becomes a real constraint when suppliers challenge assumptions or senior leadership asks for confidence behind the numbers. The complexity has only increased. Electrification, CBAM, tariffs and shifting global supply chains have fundamentally changed the raw materials landscape compared with even five years ago. Fastmarkets provides verified price assessments, 24‑month forecasts and specialist tools, including the Battery Cost Index and gigafactory database, covering materials exposure across both ICE and EV platforms. The result is a shared, independently grounded view of the market for procurement, cost engineering and supply chain teams. 🔎 130 years of pricing authority. Trusted by the world’s leading automotive OEMs and suppliers. ▶️ Discover how we can help: https://fmrkts.com/4cC5Ly9 #Automotive #RawMaterials #EVs #Electrification #SupplyChain #OEMs #CostOptimization #MarketInsights #Fastmarkets

The partner lineup for Fastmarkets Global Lithium, Battery & Critical Materials 2026 is building fast. Returning companies strengthening their presence, first-timers making their move. They'll be in front of 1,250+ attendees from across the battery materials and critical minerals supply chain. 2026 brings new faces, but also new content with an expansion into rare earths, defense and aerospace materials and energy storage, bringing entirely new buyer communities into the room alongside the core lithium and battery audience. With 1 in 3 a C-suite leader or president, this is the room where commercial decisions get made. Find out more about sponsorship: https://fmrkts.com/4sOIy1M #Fastmarkets #Lithium #BatteryMaterials #CriticalMinerals

📣 Save the date: Fastmarkets International Ferroalloys 2026 is coming to Athens, Greece, this November. The global ferroalloys community will come together once again at the industry's leading forum for senior decision-makers across the ferroalloys value chain. Expect unrivalled opportunities to: ✔ Connect with 900+ industry leaders from 520+ companies ✔ Engage with representatives from 60+ countries, including 160+ steel mills ✔ Negotiate contracts and forge strategic partnerships ✔ Gain essential market insights at the peak of the trading season Registration is now open and Super Early Bird rates are available, saving you up to €590. 🔗 Secure your place today: https://fmrkts.com/4dZX2Zc #InternationalFerroalloys #FastmarketsIFA #Ferroalloys #FastmarketsMetals #SteelIndustry #Metals