At the end of 2025, a “cost tsunami” triggered by upstream raw materials is sweeping across the manufacturing sector. The prices of critical materials, represented by cemented carbide (tungsten steel), have experienced a historic surge. Among them, the price of tungsten powder has skyrocketed by 202.3% within the year, plunging the downstream fastener industry into a severe situation where “the flour is more expensive than the bread.” This crisis, ignited by a fundamental supply-demand imbalance, is accelerating industry consolidation, forcing companies under immense survival pressure to urgently seek technological and managerial breakthroughs.
I. Alarming Data: Raw Material Prices Launch a “Vertical Strike”
Industry monitoring data indicates that this round of price hikes showed a jumping trend in mid-December 2025, with several key indicators reaching record highs. As of December 16th, the price of black tungsten concentrate (≥65%), a fundamental raw material, has climbed to a high of 415,000 RMB per ton, a staggering increase of approximately 190.2% since the beginning of the year. The price of its direct downstream product, ammonium paratungstate (APT), has reached 610,000 RMB per ton. Meanwhile, the prices of tungsten powder and tungsten carbide powder, which directly determine mold costs, have broken through the 900 RMB per kilogram mark, more than doubling since the start of the year with an increase of 202.3%. Such a steep price curve constitutes a direct cost “penetration” for manufacturing segments with fixed profit margins.
II. Root Cause Analysis: Structural Supply-Demand Contradictions Erupt Simultaneously
The core driver behind this price anomaly stems from a “scissors gap” effect between supply and demand.
• Rigid Supply Contraction: Affected by total mining quota controls and increasingly stringent environmental policies, the raw material supply from major domestic tungsten mining regions continues to tighten.
• Structural Demand Surge: Demand from the new energy sector (especially for tungsten wire used in photovoltaic diamond wire) is experiencing exponential growth. Coupled with stable demand from strategic industries like high-end equipment, aerospace, and defense, this has collectively pushed tungsten, a strategic resource, into the spotlight. Expectations of scarcity have intensified market hoarding and bullish sentiment.
III. Industry Impact: Fastener Supply Chain Under Heavy Pressure, Consolidation Imminent
Tungsten steel is the absolute core material for manufacturing high-strength, high-precision, and high-wear-resistant fastener molds (such as thread rolling dies and punches). Its price is rapidly transmitted down the industrial chain:
• Mold manufacturers bear the brunt, facing sharply rising costs and eroded profits. Some small and medium-sized manufacturers are caught in a survival dilemma where “accepting an order means incurring a loss.”
• The finished product manufacturing segment struggles to pass on costs. Although some companies have announced price adjustments, fierce market competition and customer price sensitivity hinder smooth cost transmission, putting pressure on profit margins across the industry.
• Signals of industry consolidation are emerging. Low-end capacity lacking cost-transfer capabilities and technological barriers faces accelerated elimination.
IV. Corporate Response Case Study: The “Offense and Defense” Strategy of Hebei Wohe Fasteners
Faced with an industry-wide crisis, not all companies are forced to passively endure. Leading enterprises represented by Hebei Wohe Fastener Manufacturing Co., Ltd. are actively deploying systematic response strategies, demonstrating resilience to navigate the cycle.
• Short-term “Defense”: Refined Operations and Supply Chain Collaboration
Hebei Wohe Fastener quickly initiated transparent price negotiation mechanisms with key clients, exploring the establishment of more flexible cost linkage models to share risks. Simultaneously, the company internally implemented extreme cost control, reducing waste across the entire process through lean production and cutting all non-essential expenses.
• Long-term “Offense”: Technological Breakthroughs and Product Upgrades
The company is transforming pressure into proactive strategies. Through a systematic review of production processes and management, it continuously taps into internal potential for cost reduction and efficiency gains, focusing on ensuring product consistency and reliability under given conditions. As a professional manufacturer of high-strength bolts, nuts, studs, and various special-shaped non-standard parts, whose products are widely used in photovoltaic new energy, rail transit, heavy machinery, and other fields, the company is strengthening internal management and operational resilience to meet market challenges. It is committed to maintaining the quality reputation and customer trust it has long built in high-end application markets.
V. Industry Outlook: Crisis Forces Upgrade, Resilience Determines the Future
Industry experts widely believe that this round of raw material storm will serve as a watershed moment. It ruthlessly tests each company’s supply chain management capabilities, depth of technological reserves, and strength of customer relationships. Short-term pain is inevitable, but this will also significantly accelerate the fastener industry’s transformation and upgrade from “cost competition” to “value competition.” Companies capable of rapid response, active innovation, and deepening supply chain cooperation, as demonstrated by the path taken by Hebei Wohe Fastener, not only have the potential to overcome the current difficulties but may also secure a more advantageous competitive position after the market reshuffle. The future of the industry belongs to those “resilient enterprises” that can transform cost challenges into innovation drivers.