New Platts rare earth assessments reveal security-of-supply premiums in North America

US consumers pay hefty premiums for rare earth metals sourced outside China, new alternative supply chain rare-earth price assessments launched by Platts on March 31 revealed.

The US and other countries have tried to ramp up rare earths production in the face of Beijing's tightening of supply availability. Rare earths are used in defense, electric vehicles, and they will be critical for use in humanoid robots as production ramps up.

Platts assessed terbium oxide CIF North America at the highest premium of $4,900/kilogram on March 31, while dysprosium oxide CIF North America was assessed at $1,200/kg. Both terbium and dysprosium are heavy rare earths targeted by China's export controls in April 2025. Platts is part of S&P Global Energy.

The pricing reflects structural supply constraints outside China, where producers have limited capacity to ramp up production of heavy rare earths. Only a few projects globally can separate heavy rare earths, while the sole active US rare earth mine at Mountain Pass, California, operated by MP Materials, produces only light rare earths, including neodymium, praseodymium, cerium, and lanthanum.

Platts assessed neodymium-praseodymium oxide CIF North America at $125/kg and samarium oxide at $175/kg as of March 31.

Among the assessed materials, neodymium-praseodymium showed relatively modest premiums because it is the only one with a wide range of supply options, leading to a generally lower price outlook compared to other rare earth elements that have fewer alternative sources.

"Non-China benchmarks in North America tell a straightforward story. Consumers will pay a premium for security of supply to avoid bottlenecks linked to China's capacity to impose export bans or controls on REEs," Nick Trickett, head of short-term analytics for critical minerals at S&P Global Horizons, told Platts

Supply dynamics

China's export controls, introduced in April 2025, target terbium, dysprosium, and samarium, among others, creating acute supply pressures for sectors dependent on these materials. China relented in October after talks with US government officials. But the controls exposed vulnerabilities in just-in-time supply chains that previously relied on Chinese pricing.

"Last year, OEMs of all stripes were caught flat-footed by ratcheting export controls because they did not typically stockpile inventory to cover more than 6-8 weeks of demand," Trickett said. "These prices make clear we no longer live in a world where just-in-time supply at the price set by Chinese producers works for niche metals that are highly leveraged for tech, defense, energy and industrial production. Resilience costs money."

The supply constraints are particularly acute for heavy rare earths like terbium, which represents "a tiny share of REE ore content" and faces inherent production limitations, Trickett said.