For four of the past six months, no dysprosium shipments at all cleared Japanese customs. Total arrivals of the metal for the first half of 2026 came to just 13 tons, against a 2024 six-month baseline that was roughly five times larger, according to Nikkei figures carried by TrendForce. Yttrium intake ran 74% lower at 204 tons, a slide that tracks the export rules Beijing tightened in April 2025.
Semiconductor tool builders depend on yttrium oxide for component coatings. Dysprosium-iron alloys, for their part, anchor the magnets that move EV and hybrid vehicles. European spot quotes for dysprosium now run about seven times their earlier levels.
Japanese suppliers are working around the gap. Mitsui Kinzoku built a Fukuoka line to supply rare-earth materials to chip-equipment makers; the operation counted on Chinese yttrium, and with that feedstock scarce, its export capacity has dried up. Proterial, which makes magnets, has not had a new dysprosium export license approved since November 2025. AGC is trialing non-Chinese yttrium sources for the coatings it applies to equipment parts.
Tokyo’s diversification push now spans 12 countries and regions for yttrium, and recycling programs are expanding. Production lines so far have escaped serious disruption, but inventory buffers are thinning and the exposure keeps growing.
AI infrastructure adds another front. Erbium, which fiber-optic cables rely on, has risen about a third in two months as traders stockpile before possible November export restrictions.
