Super User
2026-03-30

Skyrocketing Tungsten Carbide Prices: Industrial Changes and Market Games Amid M

Skyrocketing Tungsten Carbide Prices: Industrial Changes and Market Games Amid Multiple Resonances

Since 2025, the tungsten carbide market has seen an explosive surge. As of late March 2026, the price of tungsten carbide powder has exceeded 2,300 yuan per kilogram, representing a surge of over 580% compared with early 2024. This sharp rally has triggered a chain reaction across the entire industrial chain, driven by the intertwined dynamics of supply and demand, policies, industrial upgrading and other forces.

Price Status: From Stability to Irrational Surge

Tungsten carbide prices remained stable for more than a decade, but began a steep upward trend in early 2025. After the 2026 Spring Festival, prices rose almost daily. The surge is closely linked to upstream tungsten raw materials, with wolframite concentrate prices entering the million-yuan level. Coupled with market shortages, reluctance to sell and hoarding, a self-reinforcing price cycle has formed, pushing prices even higher.

Root Cause of the Surge: Supply-Demand Imbalance Driven by Multiple Factors

The core driver of the tungsten carbide price surge is a severe supply-demand imbalance, amplified by multiple external factors, rather than pure market speculation.

Core Alternative Paths: Three Product Categories Reshaping the Industry

To meet market demand, the saw blade industry has developed three mature and high-potential alternative routes covering various applications, effectively solving dual challenges of cost and performance.

1. Superhard Composite Material Substitution: PCD Saw Blades Become the "Hard Currency" for High-End Scenarios

Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD) saw blades are one of the most competitive alternatives. With diamond particles as the core cutting edge and a cemented carbide substrate, they boast an ultra-high hardness of 7,000–8,000 HV, delivering decisive advantages in wear resistance, heat resistance and high-precision cutting.

Core Advantages: Although the upfront purchase cost is 4–5 times that of traditional cemented carbide saw blades, their service life is extended by more than 10 times, greatly reducing tool changes and downtime. They produce burr-free cuts with high precision and significantly improved workpiece surface finish, cutting down post-processing steps.
Applications: Widely used in woodworking (man-made boards, veneered panels, laminate flooring), aluminum profile cutting, photovoltaic wafer slicing, stone precision cutting and more.
Market Value: With growing demand for high-end manufacturing, PCD saw blades continue to gain penetration and become standard equipment for medium-to-high-end cutting, effectively easing performance and cost pressures from rising tungsten carbide prices.

2. New Material Substitution: Ultra-Thin Cutting Blades and Cermets for Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement

In addition to superhard materials, innovations in substrate materials have brought new vitality to the industry.

Ultra-Thin Cutting Blades: 1.0 mm thick, 54-tooth ultra-thin blades made of special steel or lightweight alloys are over 50% thinner than conventional saw blades, achieving triple cost savings:

Reduced material loss: Narrower kerfs cut workpiece material waste by over 90%.
Lower energy consumption: Cutting resistance reduced by 25% and energy use lowered by 18%.
Higher efficiency: Lighter weight enables higher equipment speeds, boosting productivity by 12%.
Ideal for thin sheet and precision parts cutting.

Cold Saw Blades: Using ceramic tips as a reinforcing phase to replace part of the tungsten carbide content, they offer hardness and wear resistance close to traditional cemented carbide. Ceramics also provide superior heat resistance, cutting temperatures by 60% and preventing workpiece burning, suitable for low-to-mid range cutting and non-ferrous metal processing.
Dry-Cut Saws: Driven by a motor to rotate at high speed, the teeth cut materials while heat dissipation and chip removal rely on blade structure and airflow. No water or coolant is required throughout the process, enabling fully dry cutting.