Carbide cutting teeth and wear parts cost more than they did two years ago — Vermeer parts included. The price increase affects every industry that relies on carbide, from machine shops to mines.
The cause starts far from the jobsite, in the mines and refineries that supply tungsten. Tungsten is the main ingredient in carbide, and the world is running short.
To make sense of the price, it helps to know the material and why Vermeer builds with it.
“All carbide isn’t created equal,” said Cody Mecham, a product manager for Cutting Edge at Vermeer. “There are various grades, hardnesses and additive materials like cobalt, and they all affect how it performs in different applications.”
What is carbide?
In cutting teeth and wear parts, carbide means tungsten carbide. It combines tungsten and carbon into a fine gray powder. Manufacturers blend that powder with a metal binder, usually cobalt, and press it into shape. Then they heat it in a process called sintering. What comes out is a dense, solid tip or insert.
Steel is tough and can be forged or machined into nearly any shape, which suits it to the body of a tooth. Carbide is far harder than steel and holds up against abrasion that wears steel away. It is also more brittle than steel and costs more to produce. That’s why carbide usually goes only where the wear happens, as a tip or insert on a steel part.
That hardness suits components that meet soil, rock, wood and other abrasive materials on every pass.
Extra cobalt adds toughness. Finer grains add hardness. Each one comes with a trade-off.
“You want to balance the grade and hardness,” Mecham said. “Too hard, and it can become brittle in high-impact applications. Too soft in the same situation, and it will wear aggressively.”
Vermeer uses carbide on trencher and rockwheel teeth, HDD bits and reamers, stump cutter teeth and grinder and mulcher tooling. It also goes on drill heads, collars and some adapters.
Why carbide is important to cutting teeth and wear parts
Cutting teeth and wear parts live a hard life. Carbide helps them in six ways:
- Wear resistance. Carbide stands up to abrasive conditions. In abrasive ground, carbide tips can outlast hardened steel.
- Cutting performance. Tips hold their shape and cut effectively. Tungsten carbide rates about 8.5 to 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, just below diamond at 10. It stays hard at temperatures that soften many steels, and the cobalt binder soaks up impact.
- Component life. Carbide can stretch the time between changeouts. Parts still need a look every shift. A tooth worn past its carbide can chew into the holder or pocket behind it. Replacing teeth before they fail can also save the tooling that follows. “If you run a tooth too long and the carbide comes out of the body, you then have carbide in the borehole or trench,” Mecham said.
- Productivity. Teeth that hold their shape help a machine keep cutting effectively. Every stop to swap teeth is time the machine isn’t working.
- Consistency. A replacement tooth should perform like the one it replaced. That takes the same carbide grade and the same manufacturing quality from one part to the next.
- Application fit. The right tooth depends on the machine, the material and the jobsite conditions. “When you’re finding a well-matched carbide, it’s imperative to start with the application and work your way back,” Mecham said.
Why carbide costs are increasing
Carbide’s price tracks the price of its ingredients. Tungsten and cobalt are both in very limited supply.
Where tungsten comes from
Tungsten starts as mined ore. Refiners turn that ore into ammonium paratungstate (APT), the material used to make tungsten carbide powder. China produces about 80% of the world’s tungsten, according to BMO Global Commodities Research.
Supply has tightened
Mine output has stalled. BMO Global Commodities Research analysts say ore grades keep falling as environmental rules tighten. Years of underinvestment left few new mines in the pipeline, and permitting and building one takes years.
China added export controls on some tungsten products in 2025. By late that year, its APT exports had dropped close to zero. BMO describes global inventories as critically low.
Demand keeps growing
Carbide goes into far more than cutting teeth for construction equipment. Machine shops cut metal with it. Mines and drilling crews bore through rock with it. Tungsten’s density and heat tolerance also make it vital for aerospace and defense work. Canadian toolmaker De Boer Tool named export controls and defense demand as two significant drivers behind rising APT costs. The U.S. government lists tungsten as a critical mineral.
Material costs followed
Tight supply met rising demand, and prices climbed. S&P Global reports that APT prices more than quadrupled from January to July 2026, rising from $83 to $340 per kilogram of tungsten trioxide. Tungsten trioxide is the industry’s standard measure of tungsten content.
Europe followed the same path. APT there is priced by the metric ton unit, which equals 10 kilograms of tungsten trioxide. APT delivered to Rotterdam averaged about $850 per metric ton unit in mid-December 2025 and about $1,050 in late January 2026, according to Shanghai Metals Market. By September 2026, it hovered near $3,000, more than triple the December price. Prices inside China have eased from their spring peak, but Western prices have held near record highs.
Cobalt costs are up, too
The binder faces its own challenges. The Democratic Republic of Congo supplies about 70% of the world’s cobalt. It suspended cobalt exports in February 2025, then moved to a quota system that October. The caps for 2026 and 2027 sit at about 106,500 tons (96,600 mT) per year, roughly half the country’s 2024 output. Cobalt prices jumped in response.
Manufacturers across the market feel it
Vermeer customers aren’t alone. Machine shops and mining operations around the world pay the same raw material costs, and metalworking trade publications have tracked the carbide challenges all year. Toolmakers are redesigning tools to wring every bit of performance from each gram of carbide.
Why Vermeer uses carbide
For work that grinds against rock and abrasive soil every day, no practical substitute has emerged. BMO analysts note that tungsten’s properties make it hard to replace. A softer material in the same spot wears away faster than carbide, and cutting performance goes with it.
Vermeer selects carbide grades by application, using methods and lessons learned over years in the industries it serves. Grade parameters are called out on the part prints to keep the carbide consistent throughout the life of a product.
How the carbide attaches depends on the part. Large wear areas typically get carbide-impregnated weld. Smaller areas that need added protection get pressed fittings. Brazing handles spots that need a large amount of carbide in a small area.
Extra processing and additive blending raise the price of a carbide grade, so each Vermeer solution is balanced for the customer and industry.
What to consider when comparing wear parts
When prices rise, a low-cost aftermarket tooth can look tempting. Its sticker price doesn’t tell a crew how long that tooth will last.
“There may be a mismatch in quality or in the application for the grade and hardness with a cheaper alternative,” Mecham said.
These questions help sort out where product and price should intersect:
- Machine and application. Is the part intended for this machine and the material it will cut?
- Carbide quality and amount. What grade is the carbide, and how much of it is on the part?
- Construction. How is the carbide attached, and is every part built the same way?
- Expected wear. How should the part wear in these conditions?
- Performance. How will the part affect cutting performance and productivity?
- Dealer support. Who can help select the right part for the job?
- Overall value. What does the part deliver across its usable life? Purchase price alone won’t answer that.
Frequently asked questions
What is carbide?
In cutting teeth and wear parts, carbide means tungsten carbide. It is made from tungsten and carbon, bonded with a metal such as cobalt. Its hardness and resistance to abrasion make it a fit for wear applications.
Why is carbide used in cutting teeth and wear parts?
Carbide resists wear in abrasive materials such as soil, rock and wood. It holds a cutting edge in demanding conditions and stays hard at the heat cutting creates.
Why has carbide become more expensive?
Tungsten, the main ingredient in carbide, is in short supply. Mine output has stalled, export controls have limited shipments and demand has grown across several industries. Cobalt, the binder metal, also costs more than it did. These pressures reach every manufacturer that uses carbide.
Do all Vermeer cutting teeth and wear parts contain carbide?
No. Vermeer uses carbide on trencher and rockwheel teeth, HDD bits and reamers, stump cutter teeth, and grinder and mulcher tooling, along with drill heads, collars and some adapters. Your Vermeer dealer can confirm which parts for your machine are carbide-equipped.
Are all carbide components the same?
No. Carbide comes in different grades and hardness levels. Parts also differ in how much carbide they carry, how it is attached and how consistently they are made. Those differences affect how a part performs in a given application.
Why not replace carbide with a less expensive material?
Carbide gives a cutting tooth its hardness and wear resistance. A softer material wears faster than carbide in abrasive conditions, which changes how the component performs.
Does a higher carbide price automatically mean better quality?
No. Price alone doesn’t establish quality. The hardest grade isn’t always the right one, because carbide that is too hard can become brittle in high-impact applications. Look at the material, construction, application fit, expected wear and product support.
How do you choose the right cutting teeth or wear parts?
Start with your local Vermeer dealer. Dealers and Cutting Edge specialists can recommend teeth and wear parts for your machine, material and jobsite conditions.
Can operating conditions affect wear life?
Yes. Wear life depends on the material being cut, ground conditions, operating practices, maintenance and part selection. Inspect teeth every shift and replace them before they wear past the carbide. Keep rotating teeth clean and free to turn. Run the machine within spec for ground speed and cutting rpm.
Look beyond the price of the part
Carbide is on a cutting tooth because of the work it does there. Market conditions have raised what it costs. Its job in the ground is the same.
When it’s time to replace cutting teeth or wear parts, weigh quality, application fit and overall value across the life of the part. Your Vermeer dealer and Cutting Edge specialists can help match parts to your machine and conditions. Contact your local Vermeer dealer to talk through your options.
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