What are the key supply-demand dynamics for ammonium molybdate in China?

What are the key supply-demand dynamics for ammonium molybdate in China?
China's ammonium molybdate market is tightly linked to the domestic molybdenum value chain. Major producers like Jinduicheng Molybdenum and Luoyang Molybdenum control substantial concentrate resources, giving them pricing power. Jinduicheng operates the Jinduicheng mine and the Donggou mine in Henan, with combined annual output of about 23,000 tonnes of molybdenum metal. Luoyang Molybdenum produced 6,779 tonnes of molybdenum in the first half of 2026, with its molybdenum segment revenue up 33% year-on-year and gross margins at 46.7%. Xiamen Tungsten is expanding downstream, planning a 5,000-tonne-per-year ammonium molybdate production base in Thailand by 2027. On the demand side, traditional uses in steel and specialty alloys dominate, but growth is shifting toward high-molybdenum strength steels for shipbuilding, wind power, and oil and gas pipelines. The semiconductor substitution trend, while still small in volume, is expected to become the most elastic incremental demand after 2027 as NAND stacks exceed 300 layers and HBM shipments ramp up.