1 October 2021: Reduced platinum recycling could help offset chip-related platinum automotive demand losses: Reduced vehicle production and sales due to global semiconductor constraints results in delays to end-of-life vehicle scrappage. This reduces platinum autocatalyst recycling supply and partially offsets chip-related platinum automotive demand losses. Examining a scenario in which semiconductor shortages reduce 2021 production by 3.4M new vehicles (LV+HD), we estimate that the platinum surplus would increase by 116koz. On the flip-side, we calculate that autocatalyst recycling supply will be reduced by 21koz per million vehicles being run for longer instead of being scrapped. This moderates the chip-shortage linked increase to our forecast platinum surplus to only 44koz in 2021.
Platinum Perspectives
WPIC® research is free of charge. It can be consumed by asset managers under MiFID II