Yttrium prices rise 60% as supply shortages deepen for U.S. aerospace and chip industries
Key Facts
Yttrium prices rose 60% from November 2025 to a Reuters report published on 26 February 2026, as rare earth shortages deepened among suppliers to the U.S. aerospace and semiconductor industries. Prices reached about 69 times their year-earlier level, the news agency said, extending the rally it had tracked in its earlier coverage of the shortage. Data from Argus, cited by Reuters on 14 November 2025, had shown that the price of yttrium oxide in the European market had risen 4,400% since January of that year. Its price reached $270 per kilogram at the time, before the subsequent increase covered in the February report. In its February follow-up, Reuters reported that two suppliers had declined to fill orders from some customers as supply shortages intensified among U.S. suppliers in the two industries.
Yttrium is also used in semiconductor manufacturing, with two industry sources telling Reuters it is used "as a protective coating and insulating material." On securing supplies, the news agency reported that government officials and representatives of U.S. and Japanese companies met to discuss bottlenecks hindering access to Chinese yttrium. China's export controls require exporters of listed rare earth items, including yttrium items, to apply for a licence, according to an announcement by China's Ministry of Commerce. The announcement identified the body from which a licence must be sought as "the competent commerce authority under the State Council." In efforts to develop industrial alternatives, European thermal coatings producer Oerlikon Metco told Reuters it was already selling some rare-earth-free products and was developing additional products.
China accounts for a large share of rare earth processing and magnet manufacturing, according to International Energy Agency data for 2024. Its share of global refined output of magnet rare earth elements reached 91% that year. China's share of sintered permanent magnet production reached 94% over the same period, according to the agency. On export policy, Beijing announced expanded restrictions in October 2025, which were then suspended in November of the same year. The International Energy Agency said the suspension was "for one year," referring to the expanded restrictions announced in October.
In the United States, the Commerce Department's CHIPS Program announced on 26 January 2026 that it had signed a non-binding letter of intent to support USA Rare Earth. The letter proposes providing the company with up to $277 million in direct funding, according to the government announcement. It also includes a senior secured loan of up to $1.3 billion as part of the proposed financing package. The project plan includes processing 12 rare earth elements and critical minerals, including yttrium, gallium, dysprosium and terbium. According to the forecast in the January government announcement, the company's Round Top mine is expected to begin commercial production in 2028.