W.R. Grace Cancels Rare-Earths Surcharges
The end of the wild ride on the back of skyrocketing prices for so-called rare-earth minerals has been bad news for companies that aimed to capitalize on soaring demand and constricted supply.
Shares of rare-earths plays such as Avalon Rare Metals, Rare Element Resources, and Molycorp are down 57%, 61%, and a stunning 79%, respectively, over the past 52 weeks.
Catalysts and specialty chemicals company W.R. Grace has noted that "rare earth costs have stabilized in the past six months" and says it thus can return to setting standard prices on its products, and do away with the surcharges it had added onto bills starting in 2010 "in response to the high volatility in the costs of various rare earths used in Grace's FCC catalysts and additives."
On Wednesday, Grace said it's discontinuing the use of "surcharge pricing" and simply setting its base price for FCC catalysts and additives so as "to reflect current rare earths costs," adding 10% to the price "as contract terms allow."
"The price increases are necessary due to significant investments made in the businesses over the past few years and to support continued investment in R&D, technical services, and planned capital investments," said the company.
The article W.R. Grace Cancels Rare-Earths Surcharges originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
