Figures released today by the International Molybdenum Association (IMOA) show that in the third quarter of 2023, global molybdenum production rose by 7% to 161.9 million pounds (mlbs) when compared to the previous quarter. This represented a 14% rise when compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, global usage of molybdenum rose by 2% to 159.2 mlbs when compared to the previous quarter, a rise of 1% when compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
China remained the largest producer of molybdenum at 71.8 mlbs – a rise of 9% when compared to the previous quarter but a 14% rise when compared to the same quarter of the previous year. South America remained the second largest producer of molybdenum at 41 mlbs, a 3% rise when compared to the previous quarter but a 5% rise when compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Production in North America rose by 1% to 28.6 mlbs when compared to the previous quarter, a 4% rise when compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Production in Other Regions saw the largest rise, 20%, to 20.5 mlbs when compared to the previous quarter, a 59% rise when compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
China remained the largest user of molybdenum at 74.5 mlbs – this represented a 10% increase when compared to the previous quarter but a 9% increase when compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Europe, the second largest user of molybdenum, saw a 14% fall in usage to 28.1 mlbs when compared to the previous quarter, a 6% fall when compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Usage in Other Regions rose 10% to 23.8 mlbs when compared to the previous quarter, however this represented a 13% fall when compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Usage in the USA fell 6% to 15.7 mlbs when compared to the previous quarter, although when compared to the same quarter of the previous year it remained static. Usage in Japan saw a 7% fall to 11.4 mlbs when compared to the previous quarter, a 12% fall when compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Usage in CIS rose 8% to 5.7 mlbs when compared to the previous quarter, a 27% rise when compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Source: IMOA
