Supply Chain Research

Cobalt miner First Cobalt has agreed to acquire competitor U.S. Cobalt as the two accelerate development of new resources of the battery-ingredient in the U.S. That comes as demand growth has led to a new record price of $85,000 per ton for the metal according to S&P Global Capital IQ data. U.S. imports have struggled to make much headway, with a drop of 11% in the three months to January 31 on a year earlier. Chinese imports, which outnumber the U.S. by 4.7x, have climbed 236% in dollar terms and an estimated 71% in tonnage in the fourth quarter. That likely reflects a use of Democratic...