by Peter C. Earle
The American Institute for Economic Research
Throughout the late spring and summer of 2021, partially owing to pandemic policies and partially to hindered extraction, the price of palladium shot to over $3,000 per ounce. The average per ounce price of palladium between 2000 and 2018 was $509 per ounce; between 2018 and 2020, $1,288; and $2,342 between the start of 2020 and Friday, October 15th.
The rapid, profound price rise turned what had previously been an unusual, individual crime into an international effort undertaken by organized bands of catalytic converter harvesters. Teams trained to know the makes and models of cars having parts with the highest palladium content, and armed with proper tools and techniques, are sending streams of extracted emission control parts to underground salvagers worldwide.