Feeling The Chinese Burn - Fused Magnesia Focus

Many Western fused magnesia manufacturers have seen market share and profitability shrink with China's emergence as a low cost fused magnesia supplier. The latest news from China is that electricity price increases in Liaoning province could add a premium of $30-50/tonne to the cost of fused magnesia. Undertainties over energy costs have resulted in shortages of material, with producers either temporarily shutting down production, or simply not selling the material until they can come up with a price. So far, Chinese fused magnesia has not posed any real threat to the livelihoods of the electrical grade manufacturers which are enjoying 5% growth.