New dynamics for carbide tools

There has been a major price surge in the tool market, with carbide tools becoming considerably more expensive. The current price increases for carbide tools mark a new dynamic driven by raw material shortages, geopolitical restrictions and growing competition for tungsten. In the September 2026 issue of ISMR, The Plansee Group outlines how sheet metal and machining manufacturers can respond to this in a sustainable way.

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Since early 2025, prices for carbide tools have been rising significantly in the market—faster and more broadly than many companies have ever experienced. Based upon current market observations, price increases of around 10-15 per cent for cutting tools used in machining and wear parts used in industrial applications serve as a rough orientation.

Depending upon the product group and delivery model, additional surcharges of 60-80 per cent may also apply. The range remains wide because price adjustments vary depending upon the manufacturer, timing and product family. What is particularly striking is the frequency: due to high volatility, new announcements of price increases are arriving almost daily.

“The current surge stems primarily from the raw materials side—and there, the bottleneck is tungsten,” explained Andreas Lackner, spokesperson for the Executive Board of Ceratizit, a company within the Plansee Group, the largest tungsten supplier outside China. “About 65 per cent of the tungsten processed worldwide is used for carbide tools,” he added.

To read the rest of this article in the September 2026 issue of ISMR, see https://joom.ag/Ozfd/p28