Cabot Corp. v. AVX Corp.

AVX Corporation (AVX) manufactures capacitors for electronic products. Tantalum is an elemental metal, as rare in nature as uranium, used in the manufacture of those products. In January, 2001, AVX entered into a multi-year supply contract with Cabot Corporation (Cabot), a major supplier of tantalum *630powder and wire. In the years immediately preceding the contract, the tantalum market favored buyers, and AVX purchased it from Cabot at preferable prices without entering binding, long-term contracts. When demand for capacitors and the tantalum used in their manufacture increased dramatically in…