# Hafnium: Trading

No exchange, just a few sellers and long contracts

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/trading/

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)

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/cycles/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/links/index.md)