Scrap Steel Prices

jeepinmatt

jeepinmatt

#1 WEBWHEELER
Moderator
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Location
Stanley, NC
I've scrapped stuff multiple times over the last 10 years or so, and am used to seeing $0.08-0.12 per pound. I had a nice pallet of stuff I gathered up last week from around the shop, I'd estimate about 1500lbs worth of short steel. It was loaded in the truck ready to go, but I decided to call around first since there are 3 scrapyards within a few miles. First place I called is always clean, nice and doesn't pay as well, but I don't have to worry about flat tires or fistfights. They said 3 cents a pound. I said "uh, did you say THREE cents a pound?". The lady said yessir...
I called the other 2 places, and they were 4 and 4.5 cents per pound. WTF mate. I thought I had about $150 worth of scrap, but now its looking more like $50-60 worth.

Anybody else seeing really low prices? Or was I just expecting really high prices?

@mcutler I believe you're in this business. Whats the likelihood of prices going back up anytime soon? I can sit on this stuff indefinitely, but was looking to get it out of the way...
 
I heard around June-July it was supposed to pick back up, but I'll bet we won't see it go back over 8 for awhile. A yard about 20 minutes from me has a sign out that says 6, but my usual yard is about the Same as you, from 4-4.5.
 
You won't see it climb at a fast pace. Those prices sound like feeder yard prices. Have to go to the head of the snake to get better pricing right now. It's basically a world wide reset of ferrous metal pricing. So many foreign countries are in financial turmoil it will be a slow climb. You should be able to get 5-6.5 per hundred at the large shredder yards.
 
It's been low all year. It follows gas prices "most" of the time. It's been dead on this year.

My scrap is starting to get way out of control trying to hold out... I got paid with a complete 86 F150 to scrap to get $400 back. But $150 difference is worth shoving the thing to the back and working around it for now...

Funny "as mcutler said" there's just so many foreign countries that we depend on buying our scrap it's crazy. China is our #1 buyer and even they are slowing fast right now and everybody is holding back waiting for it to bottom. I'm pretty sure it's the ripple effect from our own bubble burst a few years ago that everyone declared it wouldn't affect them. Welp. :) It has...

I predict 2-3 years at least only if we continue to grow. If we slow down again it may never return to 8/100.
 
I'm in the steel industry.

Whole industry (new material and scrap) is extremely depressed right now.

It should be bottoming out in the next 30-45days (fingers crossed.)

Every mill in the country pumped out inventory during the slight bump in the economy during Q2/3/4 of 2014 and now everyone is busting ass to clear their warehouses...at close to a loss.

But yea, your scrap prices are gonna stink for a while longer.
 
Its crazy low in south Carolina too. I've got about 900+ lbs on deck. Waiting. Which sadly, isn't enough to recoup gas money. :lol:
 
I can tell its low b/c the local pick 'n pulls are stacking up the cars, letting the yards get really full... when it goes up, they mysteriously start to vanish...
 
Sold two tons of brake rotors at Bish in Siler City last week for, $200 bucks, I needed my scrap trailer to haul some compost but dang it hurt......at least they unload it for me.
 
Cars are $5.25/100 here and short steel is way less.Im sitting on 2-3K of gears,bare cases, and other assorted junk plus about 6 trucks just waitin on the price to come back.Scrap hits $10/100 Im cleaning house.
 
I work for a Steel company also... We switched our scrap company recently to the big fish to get a little more bang.
Company still charges me like .10 a lb for scrap.... But hard to complain.
 
Last time I took steel (about a month or so ago) I got .09 lb. White goods were .03 lb. Guess China isnt buying like they were....
 
I just got .04/lb for the 70 Lincoln in my side yard. Was expecting about $350-400...ended up getting $215. My business is scrap collection to melt...we've been selling revert steel at about .08/lb, down from .14/lb 6 months ago. Stainless, brass and Ti are the only things we've seen go up over that same period.
 
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