Agent Offfers
Realty Times TV

What Factors Determine Scrap Metal Recycling Prices?

Written by Posted On Tuesday, 17 November 2015 22:33

 

 

 

Believe it or not, there are actually a number of factors to go into determining scrap metal recycling prices on any given day. A person cannot just wake up in the morning and decide that copper is going to be worth more today – just because they feel like it. Many of the factors that determine prices are constantly changing and adjusting according to the outlook of the market. To help you better understand, we’ve outlined some of these factors here.

International Markets
The first factor is scrap metal prices overseas, especially in China. This is because a large amount of the items we recycle are actually imported overseas – it is estimated that 55% of their ferrous scrap is actually exported by the United States every year. China is the biggest importer of metal in the world, so their market is vital.

Domestic Market
The second factor is the market at home. A number of industries can actually have a large effect on prices, including: processing companies, mills, mines and manufacturers. Issues within these industries can also have an effect – whenever there are strikes in the mines, for example, you’ll notice that the value of an affected metal rises.

Supply/Demand
The third factor is a matter of supply and demand – when there is a lot of metal to go around, you’ll find that it isn’t worth as much; when demand is high and supply is low, however, you’ll find that prices skyrocket. New construction and public projects are often a good sign, as it means that new materials (such as steel) are required.

Sellers/Brokers
Like anyone selling scrap, those large quantity sellers want to be able to make money. After all, this is the primary source of income for such sellers, so it needs to be worth their while. Some sellers will try to make money on certain materials (such as copper), so those fees will come into effect when the buyer is determining prices.

Recycling Centres/Yards
Your chosen recycling centre or scrap yard will have to take all of the above factors into account when determining the value they are willing to offer. They have to be prepared to drop the price in a split second, whilst still taking into account their own overheads. Keep in mind that they have a business to run, employees and bills to pay.

Scrappers
Whilst scrappers, like you and me, don’t have direct control when it comes to determining prices, some yards will offer premiums to customers depending on the amount of metal they have. This is why many people save up their stock for a larger load. You should, however, always call your yard first to find out what they’re offering.

As you can see, there are a number of factors that ultimately determine scrap metal recycling prices. As they are changing all the time, it actually becomes difficult to know whether the market is going to go up or down – but such is the life of a scrapper. At the end of the day, there are a number of ways for you to keep an eye on current prices (including apps) but we hope that you now have a better understanding of why they fluctuate.

 

 

 

Rate this item
(0 votes)
Andrew Mark

My name is Andrew Mark and i was born and raised in Melbourne VIC. I'm graduated from university of Melbourne. I'm writing on various topics like health, travel, tech, home improvement and recycling.

Latest from Andrew Mark

More in this category: > How to Have a Stress-Free Grasslands Lakeland Home Buying Experience Know Why One Should Prefer Newly Built Homes For Buying?
back to top

Agent Resource

Before You List

Today's Headlines

Realty Times

From buying and selling advice for consumers to money-making tips for Agents, our content, updated daily, has made Realty Times® a must-read, and see, for anyone involved in Real Estate.

Links

Sections

Search

Joomla! Debug Console

Session

Profile Information

Memory Usage

Database Queries