The US has a long history of manufacturing vehicles—dominating the sector for over 100 years—and its ambitions to become a major player in the nascent electric vehicle (EV) industry will see changes in the raw materials the country is trying to get its hands on.
The US is currently the
fourth largest demand source for finished nickel behind China, Indonesia and
Japan. AME currently forecasts finished nickel demand from the world's biggest
economy to be 128kt in 2021, a 13% rise from a coronavirus-affected 2020.
However, looking forward this is forecast to grow significantly into the longer
term on the back of the EV revolution.
As the US is expected to
develop further domestic battery production capacity to meet the rising demand
from potential growth in domestic EV manufacturing capacity, this will, in turn,
drive increasing demand for nickel in the longer term. Given the current size
of the EV market, this is a longer-term theme, with nickel demand globally
still dominated by stainless steel and alloying sector.