In mid-June 2026, Kanto Denka Kogyo Co., Ltd. and Central Glass Co., Ltd. formally issued final delivery notices to leading global foundries including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and TSMC: June 30, 2026, marks the last shipment date, with permanent cessation of tungsten hexafluoride (WF₆) production effective July 1, 2026.

Critical Material in Semiconductor Manufacturing

Tungsten hexafluoride is an essential electronic specialty gas used in semiconductor chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes. It deposits tungsten metal thin films within nanoscale gaps to form conductive pathways inside chips. In 3D NAND flash fabrication, as stacking layers increase from 128 to over 200, per-wafer WF₆ consumption rises by approximately 37 times. The material is equally indispensable in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced logic processes below 7 nm, with no mature alternative currently available.

Root Causes of the Shutdown

The immediate trigger for the production halt was a rupture in the raw material supply chain. High-purity tungsten powder accounts for 60% to 70% of WF₆ production costs, while approximately 80% of global tungsten resources and refining capacity are concentrated in China.

On January 6, 2026, China's Ministry of Commerce issued its annual No. 1 export control announcement, effectively halting high-purity tungsten powder exports to Japan beginning in February. The two Japanese companies sustained operations for nearly five months by drawing down inventory. However, alternative sourcing failed to materialize in time: tungsten powder procured from other countries cost roughly three times as much and fell far short of the 6N-grade (99.9999%) purity standard.

Supply Gap and Market Impact

The combined annual capacity of the two companies stands at approximately 2,200 metric tons, representing roughly 25% of global WF₆ supply. Industry estimates project a hard supply shortfall of about 2,000 metric tons in the second half of 2026. Market prices have already reacted sharply: 5N-grade (99.999%) WF₆ has surged 232.7% year-on-year, while 6N-grade high-purity product prices have skyrocketed from 900,000 yuan per metric ton in early April to the 2.2–3.0 million yuan range. Korean suppliers SK Specialty and Foosung have notified customers of 70% to 90% contract price increases for 2026.

Given that qualification cycles for new WF₆ production facilities and customer certifications typically require 18 to 24 months, global supply tightness is expected to persist through 2027.

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