China’s rare earth exports to US surge, giving aerospace manufacturers room to breathe

For more than a year, US aerospace manufacturers have been rationing a material most people have never heard of. Yttrium oxide, a rare earth element essential for keeping jet engine components from melting at extreme temperatures, became scarce after China locked down exports in April 2025. Now, the spigot appears to be opening again, at least partially. Chinese exports of yttrium oxide to the US reached 29 metric tons in July 2026, the second-largest monthly shipment since those controls took effect. Permanent magnet exports followed a similar trajectory, hitting 647 tons in July, also the second-highest monthly volume in the post-controls era. Why yttrium matters more than you think Yttrium oxide forms the backbone of thermal barrier coatings on jet engine turbine blades, the thin layers that allow metal to survive temperatures that would otherwise turn it into expensive soup. Without reliable yttrium supply, aerospace production lines slow down, maintenance cycles get delayed, and costs spike. China dominates global rare earth production and refining capacity by a wide margin. When Beijing imposed stringent export controls in April 2025, the downstream effects were immediate and...