Soaring Tungsten Prices Force Industry Transformation, Accelerating the Diversification of Tooling Materials

Soaring Tungsten Prices Force Industry Transformation, Accelerating the Diversification of Tooling Materials

Since 2026, the prices of upstream raw materials for cemented carbide cutting tools have continued to rise. Tungsten and cobalt are the core raw materials for cemented carbide cutting tools, and these two are the key variables determining tool prices.

 Currently, tungsten-based raw materials account for over 80% of the cost of cemented carbide cutting tools, and fluctuations in raw material prices significantly impact companies' profitability. Faced with this cost pressure, the industry is accelerating its exploration of diversified evolution paths for tooling materials.

Looking at the average tungsten content of various tooling materials: ceramic tools are 0%, high-speed steel tools are about 4.4%, cermet tools are about 6%, tungsten carbide-based cemented carbide tools are as high as 92%, and PCD and PCBN composite tools have a tungsten content of approximately 94% in their matrix. Industry analysis, considering material compatibility and tool manufacturing process characteristics, indicates a clear divergence in the evolution of tool materials across different machining scenarios:

For cutting high-hardness steel, heat-resistant alloys, nickel-based superalloys, and cast iron, ceramic and cubic boron nitride tools are the preferred choices.

For cutting titanium alloys, aluminum alloys, and fiber-reinforced materials, polycrystalline diamond tools offer significant advantages.

For pure steel cutting, both ceramic and cermet tools possess substitution potential.

In complex tool categories such as broaches, gear cutting tools, and taps, high-speed steel benefits more from the processing difficulty and cost factors of ceramic, PCBN, and PCD tool materials.

Faced with the current tungsten price surge, the industry generally believes this presents both a challenge and a strategic window of opportunity. Companies are enhancing their resilience through supply chain innovation while accelerating their expansion into ceramic and superhard tool fields, aiming to achieve self-sufficiency and domestic substitution across all tool categories through the expansion of material grades and tool types. It is foreseeable that the cemented carbide cutting tool industry will form a more diversified competitive landscape among multiple material systems such as traditional cemented carbide, cermet, ceramic cutting tools, and superhard cutting tools in the future.