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Helping you manage through rising prices

Gexpro is reaching out to help you understand and better manage products affected by the growing worldwide shortage of
rare earth elements. As prices continue to rise out of our control, we want to help our customers cope and compete.

 

Products affected by the rising costs of Rare Earth elements:

Lamps: LFL, CFL, LED, Incandescent
Motors: Industrial, ECM
Batteries: Rechargeables, Electric Vehicles
Electronics: Monitors, TV, Laptops, Tablets, Smartphones


Interesting Fact:
Rare earth elements are not all that rare – they are actually rather abundant throughout the planet. The term rare earths comes from the difficulty in extracting the elements from the ore in which they naturally occur.

 

  

 

What You Can Expect:

Literally thousands of electrical products that rely on rare earth components for performance and energy efficiency have already seen 10-35% price increases this year. And there's more to come, with prices expected to rise through 2012.

Why It's Happening:

China controls 90-95% of global rare earth mining. As China's production grew at lower prices, other countries shut down operations. Now China’s rare earth materials needs have grown and the government is imposing high tariffs and export restrictions to protect the interests of Chinese companies. That’s led to a rare earth element price increase of more than 1,000% in less than 18 months – continuously adding to the costs of the products they’re included in.

Long-Term Relief Will Come:

The U.S. and other countries are reopening rare earth mines to add production and grow
supplies. Unfortunately, estimates say it will take 18 months before production can reach
meaningful levels and bring prices under control.

What You Should Do:

While there is nothing we can do to lower prices at this time, we can help you make
product decisions and upgrades more effectively. Your Gexpro representative can help:

  • Walk you through the impact on affected products
  • Explain options to minimize these impacts
  • Connect with our Energy Solutions team to show the great energy
    savings and ROI achievable, despite this market volatility
  • Keep you informed so that you always have the right decision-making
    information

Gexpro Resources to Keep You Informed:

Click here to get the latest information delivered to you directly by signing up for email updates. We'll keep you informed on major developments, alternate strategies and ways to minimize the affects on your operations worldwide.