The reason to push up the cost a lot was that China kicked out the capacity of intermediate frequency furnace, replaced by production from electric arc furnace (EAF) mill.

In the first quarter of 2017, the price of graphite electrode rod was US$2,000/ton only but now was US$20,000/ton which was 10 times increased. Vanadium cost unbelievably reached to NT$2 millions/ton, however its price was less than one-third of current price one year ago. The other ferroalloy like silicon, silicon-manganese and refractory material were all quoted much higher than before.

The output of China EAF mill was expected to be 80-100 millions in 2018, which meant their huge demand of raw material definitely could easier control cost up or down.