Hafnium: Trading
No exchange, just a few sellers and long contracts
What this tab covers How and where it is bought and sold: who buys and sells, exchanges and benchmarks, contract types, the big trading houses and how prices are discovered.There is no exchange for hafnium. A few integrated zirconium producers sell under long-term contracts to superalloy makers, chip-material suppliers and nuclear fabricators. Price-reporting agencies publish assessments; USGS uses the Argus Non-Ferrous Markets annual average. Volumes are tiny, so a single aerospace order can move the market. Aerospace and semiconductor buyers must qualify material from each producer. That locks in supplier relationships and leaves little room for spot trade.
Where it is bought (buyers)
- Superalloy melters supplying engine and turbine makers in the US and Europe
- Plasma-torch makers, reactor builders and semiconductor chemical suppliers in the US, Europe, Japan, Korea and Taiwan
- US imports of unwrought hafnium came from Germany 54%, China 21%, France 12% and the UK 8% in 2021-24 (USGS)
Where it is sold (sellers)
- Framatome in France and ATI and Westinghouse in the US sell from nuclear zirconium plants
- Chinese producers sell under export licences; China and Germany were the leading exporters of unwrought hafnium (USGS 2026)
- Specialist traders in Europe resell and hold stocks
Exchanges and benchmarks
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| None | No exchange contract | Bilateral trade; Argus assesses a Rotterdam price |
Contract types
- Long-term supply agreements between zirconium producers and superalloy makers
- Spot lots of metal, sponge and crystal bar through traders
- Chinese export licences required per shipment for dual-use material
Top trading houses
- Lipmann Walton (UK minor-metals trader quoted on hafnium supply, Reuters 2023)
How prices are discovered
- Argus hafnium min 99% duty unpaid Rotterdam (weekly)
- Argus Non-Ferrous Markets annual average (used by USGS)
- US import unit values (US Census)