Two trends characterised fluorspar in 2011: Vertical integration of the fluorochemical supply chain, which continued its long-term consolidation, and end market overcapacity in China’s fluorochemicals sector, which pushed Chinese acidspar prices down to end-of-year lows.
Verticalisation is primarily a move made by end users rather than raw material suppliers, but both forward and backward integration was commonplace in 2011 as companies looked to add value to their businesses in a toughening economic climate.
In the case of China, verticalisation also appeared to emerge as an alternative to fluorspar export caps – having a similar effect as the government’s former export quota policy.
Vertical integration continues
In North America the most significant market consolidation came from the new joint venture between Canada Fluorspar Inc. (CFI) and...