Resources / sourcing
Non-China NdFeB Magnet Supply Map
A factual map of named capacity outside China and the qualification questions that remain after a supplier has been identified.
Reference note: Market prices and capacity figures are volatile reference points, not quotations or guarantees of current availability.
Why the map is short
China accounts for approximately 90% of global magnet production. A credible non-China sourcing map should therefore be short, specific and explicit about what is operating, planned or still being built. A long list of trading companies is not evidence of manufacturing capacity outside China.
The following map uses only named capacity and status verified for August 2026. It is not a claim that Cardinal Magnetics has contracted these manufacturers, that they will accept every RFQ, or that their material, process and documentation meet a particular buyer’s requirements.
Estonia: Neo Performance Materials, Narva
Neo Performance Materials has relevant magnet capacity in Narva, Estonia, with an initial objective of 2,000 tonnes per year of magnets. Its location provides a concrete European manufacturing reference in a market otherwise dominated by China.
A capacity figure does not answer whether a specific grade, geometry, coating, tolerance or volume is available. Buyers still need a drawing-based quotation, production-location evidence and their own technical and compliance qualification.
United States: current and developing capacity
Noveon Magnetics was the only notable United States producer of sintered NdFeB magnets at the beginning of 2026. Vacuumschmelze is building capacity in Sumter, South Carolina. These are different statuses: one describes notable production at the start of the year; the other describes a facility under construction.
A sourcing decision should preserve that distinction. Planned capacity should not be quoted as current availability, and current production should not be assumed to cover every custom grade or program. The RFQ must establish the actual offer.
Japan: established manufacturers
TDK and Shin-Etsu are relevant manufacturers in Japan. Japan is therefore an important non-China origin to evaluate for high-performance magnet requirements.
Identification is only the first step. The buyer must still determine commercial access, minimum order, lead time, grade availability, tooling, documentation and whether the manufacturer or an authorized commercial channel will quote the program.
Vietnam: planned scale
SGI Vina in Vietnam has 4,000–5,000 tonnes per year of planned capacity. The word “planned” is material. It describes an intended scale, not a guarantee that the capacity is commissioned, available to a particular customer or qualified for a specific application.
For a Vietnam option, request the current operating status, exact production site, process steps performed there, material origin and documents supporting country of origin. Do not infer those answers from the corporate address alone.
The export-control reason to diversify
Since April 2025, China has required a non-automatic export licence for all SmCo magnets and for NdFeB magnets containing dysprosium or terbium. NdFeB magnets made only with light rare earths continue to export freely under this specific rule. The grade and composition therefore determine whether a China source carries this exposure.
Licence applications frequently remain unresolved for 60–120 days or longer, with no statutory review period. Shipments of yttrium, dysprosium and terbium remain approximately 50% below the period before April 2025. These facts do not mean every program should leave China; they mean a controlled high-temperature grade needs an explicit origin and schedule strategy.
Price signals show access risk, not a ready arbitrage
In June 2026, dysprosium oxide was approximately US$208/kg in the Chinese domestic market and about US$317/kg FOB China, a premium close to 67%. Terbium oxide was around US$1,406/kg FOB. The NdPr oxide benchmark from SMM was US$97.40/kg on 4 August 2026, after opening the year near US$53/kg and reaching approximately US$137–140/kg in late April.
These figures are volatile reference points, not quotations for finished magnets. They illustrate why material access, composition and timing can move independently from a supplier’s manufacturing price. Cardinal Magnetics does not offer oxide trading or promise a price outcome from these differences.
How to qualify a mapped option
Start with the approved drawing, grade, temperature, coating, tolerance, magnetization and volumes. Define what non-China origin means for the program. Ask where alloy preparation, sintering, machining, coating, magnetization and final inspection occur. Request the documentation that the buyer’s compliance process requires.
Then compare technical deviations, sample plan, production assumptions, minimum order, lead time and origin evidence. A map helps identify whom to investigate; it does not complete supplier qualification.
The role of an independent sourcing partner
Cardinal Magnetics structures the RFQ, identifies potential manufacturing options and organizes supplier information so differences are visible. It does not claim a contracted factory network, manufacturing capacity, certifications or guaranteed availability.
That narrow role is useful when a small or mid-sized OEM needs to investigate alternatives without treating a directory listing as a qualified supply chain.
Maintain the map as status changes
Capacity statements age quickly. Record the date, whether a facility is operating or planned, the source of the status, and the specific response received for the RFQ. Do not carry a planned tonnage into a later presentation as though it had become commissioned capacity without new evidence.
The August 2026 map is therefore a starting point, not a permanent supplier list. Each new program should refresh operating status, grade coverage, commercial access and origin documentation before a buyer relies on the option. The resulting file should distinguish public capacity information from a supplier response to the buyer’s own drawing. Record unavailable information as unknown instead of converting a plan or target into a current capability.
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