The global silicon carbide (SiC) raw material market has entered a downward price cycle after prolonged volatility, offering much-needed relief to superhard abrasive enterprises long burdened by high costs. Data from Mysteel shows that as of Q4 2025, the average global SiC raw material price has dropped 18% year-on-year, with China’s domestic price falling to around 6,500 yuan/ton, a notable decline from the 2024 peak of 8,200 yuan/ton. This trend is expected to persist into H1 2026, creating favorable conditions for the superhard abrasive industry’s high-quality development.
As a core raw material for superhard abrasives, SiC accounts for 35% to 45% of production costs. Since 2023, tight upstream supply and surging new energy demand have kept SiC prices elevated, exerting heavy operational pressure on superhard abrasive enterprises—especially SMEs. Many were forced to cut capacity or squeeze profit margins, hampering industry technological upgrading.
The price drop is primarily driven by supply-demand rebalancing. On the supply side, Chinese manufacturers like Tianyue Advanced have expanded capacity significantly, with global effective SiC wafer production surging from 460,000 6-inch equivalent pieces in 2022 to 3.9 million in 2025, easing shortages. On the demand side, the downstream market has entered a destocking phase with slower growth, fostering a gradual supply-demand balance and rational price regression.
Superhard abrasive enterprises have felt tangible benefits. A leading Henan-based manufacturer noted that SiC price cuts reduced its production costs by ~12%, lifting core product gross profit margins by 3-5 percentage points. “We’ve resumed full capacity and increased R&D investment in high-precision abrasive tools,” said its operations director. Data from the China Abrasives and Grinding Materials Industry Association shows the industry’s overall profit margin reached 8.7% in Q3 2025, up 2.1 percentage points year-on-year.
Industry experts noted that lower SiC prices will optimize the industry structure. “Low-cost raw materials will accelerate the elimination of backward capacity and drive enterprises to shift from cost competition to technological competition,” said a TrendForce analyst. With reduced cost pressure, enterprises are more willing to invest in high-value-added products like semiconductor-grade superhard abrasives, boosting industry upgrading.
Looking ahead, as SiCSiC supply capacity improvess and downstreamdownstream demand from new energy and semiconductors rebounds, the global market is expected to stabilizestabilize. Superhard abrasive enterprises areseizing this opportunity to strengthen supply chain management and technological innovation, aiming to enhancecompetitiveness in the high-end global global market.
