America’s manufacturing Achilles’ heel: McKinsey’s warning on rare earths grows louder
McKinsey & Company warns that the U.S. faces a significant shortfall in rare earth supplies, crucial for various technologies. By 2035, a 30% global supply deficit is projected unless production increases outside of China. The dominance of China in this sector stems from its strategic focus on refining and processing rare earths, leaving the U.S. vulnerable.
- ▪McKinsey projects a shortfall of up to 30% in global magnetic rare earth supply by 2035.
- ▪Producers outside China are expected to meet less than 20% of global demand for dysprosium and terbium by 2035.
- ▪China controls approximately 70% of global rare earth mining and nearly 90% of refining and processing.
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The story of Achilles doesn’t begin with an arrow. It begins with a mother who thought she could engineer invulnerability.Recommended Video Thetis dipped her infant son in the River Styx to make him immortal, holding him by the heel — the one place the water never touched. Achilles grew up to be the greatest warrior of his age, his armor impenetrable, his enemies routed. Nobody worried about the heel. Why would they? Everything else worked so well. America’s industrial story follows the same arc. Decades of semiconductor leadership, unmatched aerospace manufacturing, the most sophisticated defense supply chain in history — and, running beneath all of it, a single exposed tendon.
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