larry - Toyota Tsusho is a trading outfit and also has an equity...

larry - Toyota Tsusho is a trading outfit and also has an equity stake in the Olaroz operation. I've always assumed that they are "incentivised" to get fair value for the lithium they market.

niu - thanks for that well researched info about Toyota Tsusho - sure, Toyota Tsusho is at arm's length to the Toyota car company but then again so is Panasonic and Suzuki. I recall reading up on the Japanese way of business when it was still a novelty - perhaps it was something from Michael Porter - and it was noted that Japanese companies are more likely than anglo companies to work with others, even competitors, for mutual benefit. It just seems apparent to me that a number of Japanese operators are engaging in collegiate behavior as they set up for the era of the EV.