When Will Scrap Metal Prices Go Back Up?

0 votes
asked Sep 25, 2016 in Other-Finance by scrappingtosurvive (120 points)
I do scrap metal recycling as a means to make a living. But lately it's getting harder and harder to get by with the current prices.

Scrap tin is $40.00 a ton prepared iron is $30.00 per ton Copper $1.32 lb

At one time I was seeing $300.00 per ton for tin and nearly $400.00 a ton for prepared iron and $3.50 lb for copper.

How long before the better prices return? And what's causing the low scrap metal prices right now.

3 Answers

0 votes
answered Sep 25, 2016 by chad (14,670 points)
I also remember a price of $400.00 a ton when I sold a car for scrap years ago. I believe it was 5 years ago when that price was around.

I expect at least another 5 years until prices rebound to hopefully $400.00 per ton.

I have so far around 3 tons of scrap tin and a few tons of scrap iron sitting in my scrap metal storage yard.

I'm still collecting scrap iron and tin and just placing it in the piles. Will keep it until the prices rebound to a good enough price.

Even $200.00 per ton would be better than the current prices.

I believe it's the fact that China has slowed down or stopped their buying of our scrap metal.

Scrap Tin and Iron is just not in huge demand right now as I believe they're mining iron ore for cheap right now.
0 votes
answered Oct 10, 2016 by Grt3 (240 points)
I'm not sure when it will go back up. But here's some interesting info I found on scrap metal prices that might be helpful and interesting to you.

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Conventional wisdom has long dictated that falling U.S. exports of ferrous scrap have been putting downward pressure on the domestic market. Since 2011, ferrous exports have dropped by more than half from their record high, and exports are on track to drop below 12 million tonnes this year.

That means nearly 13 million tonnes that went overseas just five years ago are looking for a home in the domestic market. And that glut has pushed prices in the U.S. and Canada down for two years now.

Prime grade prices dropped $30 to $40 across the U.S. Midwest and South last month, and slowing demand for automobiles has some observers of the domestic markets worried that prices could dip even further in October, bringing the price level to the three-year lows they reached last December. Complicating the situation is an increase in scrap imports.

The strong dollar, which depresses scrap exports, also works to encourage scrap imports. The British Pound continues weaker against the Dollar in the post-Brexit era, and the Canadian dollar has fallen to a six-month low against the U.S. Dollar.

The weaker Canadian Dollar especially impacts markets in Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, where prime grades from Canadian stampers and slitters sells at a discount against homegrown scrap.

Source: http://www.scrappricebulletin.com/4772/US-Scrap-markets-getting-hit-by-exports-imports

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0 votes
answered Oct 12, 2016 by Bdog2 (3,910 points)
By the looks of things it doesn't look like scrap tin and iron will be going back anytime soon. At least not until around the year 2030 or 2040.

So it could be at least 24 years before a recovery on prices.

Here's an article I was reading about China's demand for scrap metal. http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/bhp-rio-ironores-next-big-threat-looms-in-chinas-junkyards-20160413-go54s9.html

It seems they're able to purchase iron ore cheaper than buying scrap metal to melt down.

It's probably gonna be a long wait for the tin and iron prices to recover.

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