Start with a US buyer and trace back

This page runs the supply chain in reverse. Choose a US company, and we work backwards from it to every supplier we can see, then to who owns each supplier.

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Check a Buyer: one direction, backwards

Start at the end of the chain. Best for asking: who supplies this company, and who owns them?

Explore

Explore: both directions, from a plant

Start in the middle of the chain. Best for asking: what goes through this plant? Go to Explore →

Quick picks:
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Trace back from any US buyer yourself

The profiles above cover our traced cases plus in-depth scans for Ford, Panasonic and LG Energy Solution. To check any other buyer, run the same steps with Sayari access, either by hand in Sayari Graph or through the Sayari MCP server in an AI assistant. Allow about 15 minutes per buyer.

  1. Find the buyer's records. search_entities with the legal name, then get_entity_summary on each candidate. Expect several records (different plants, misspellings); keep every US one.
  2. Scan its suppliers by product. search_trade_facets with scope shipments, query = the quoted buyer name, arrival_country USA, date_from 2024-01-01, run once with hs_code 3801 (graphite, anode material) and once with 8507 (lithium-ion cells). Read the top-supplier buckets. Don't use the receiver_name filter: it is often ignored.
  3. Confirm the rows. search_shipments with the same query, and read each row's shipper, product text, dates and port of loading. Drop freight forwarders. Note rows "loaded in Singapore" or other hubs.
  4. Check who owns each supplier. find_beneficial_owners on each supplier. If it returns nothing, try find_shortest_path to the suspected parent, then the parent's annual report.
  5. Rate and record. Mark each supplier as Chinese-owned Yes / No / Unknown, with a confidence rating (how we rate), and keep the call log. Then check the plants in Due Diligence.
Copy-ready prompt for an AI assistant with the Sayari connector 
Using the Sayari MCP tools, check the US buyer "[BUYER NAME]" for graphite and battery suppliers.
1. Find its Sayari records (search_entities, then get_entity_summary). List the US ones.
2. Run search_trade_facets (scope: shipments; query: the quoted buyer name; arrival_country USA; date_from 2024-01-01), once with hs_code 3801 and once with hs_code 8507. Don't use receiver_name.
3. Confirm the top suppliers with search_shipments. Drop freight forwarders. Note the ports of loading.
4. For each supplier, run find_beneficial_owners and name the ultimate owner and its country.
5. Return a table: supplier | country | HS | rows | date range | ultimate owner | Chinese-owned? (Yes/No/Unknown) | confidence (documented / cross-checked / inferred / lead) | evidence.
Use neutral language. Don't guess: say "Unknown" when ownership isn't on record.

Scope and limits

  • The "traced cases" view covers only suppliers in our cases. The wider scans cover the HS 3801 and 8507 suppliers visible in US customs data, which still misses domestic purchases and goods arriving inside finished products.
  • "Chinese-owned" comes from each case's ownership screening and carries its confidence rating. "Company based in China" means it ships directly from China.
  • Shipment rows come from customs records in Sayari. Domestic US sales don't appear in customs data.