Long or short TON - Page 2

i also work the numbers to the pound - i don't care what they want to call it - i normalize to $/lb, so i always know where i am. i have a bs in chemistry and an mba, but i like my math simple, so i don't get it wrong on a bad day.

Originally Posted by Copper Head

I will get to the bottom of this There has to be a reason some yards pick the long or short ton as there method of weighing

I'm sure they have a good reason either way. Short tons for less confusion for the people bringing in stuff and long tonnes for less confusion and conversions when dealing with overseas stuff. I don't know. But why bother? If you can get to the point where you see the price per pound or hundredweight or whatever is your measurement of choice you can compare what you will get for what you got.

Originally Posted by PistoneScrapProcessing

Seriously you are in the scrap industry if you can't do simple math you might want to retire your blue jeans and hang up your boots and gloves for gardening. If you can't reverse engineer a math problem how are you able to break down scrap items.

Seriously you are a **** I am sure you deal in Gross and Net Tons!

I was the manager of a medium size scrap yard last summer and even the people in the main office would get confused by the gross/net mess sometimes. We paid on a net ton and sold to the highest buyer. Some paid net some gross. I always reduced it to price per pound for quick comparison. Its easy to get sucked into the golden gleam of a gross ton only to discover you are getting shafted. In my experience most shredders who paid on a gross ton were trying to nail you.

So i figured that
1 + 1 = 2
2 + 2 = 4
and even the hard one 2 + 2 + 3 = 7

Price per lb - it is the same no matter what
$140 paid per 2000 net is same as $160 paid per 2240 gross

To convert the price you will get paid from a gross ton to a net ton divide the price per gross ton by 1.12.

To convert the price you will get paid from a net ton to a gross ton multiply the price per net ton by 1.12.

Gross tons are normally used on contracts between yards or foundries when selling material. For example if I were to sell 100 tons of #1 cast iron the amount of weight and price per ton would normally be listed as gross tons on the contract. Lets just say the price agreed upon is $440.00/GT. That would mean I would have to deliver 224,000 lbs and the amount I would receive for the full contract is $44,000.00 assuming I hauled the exact weight which never happens.

When purchasing material across the scale, weights are normally measured in net tons. If a yard is quoting you a price per gross ton across the scale this might be done as a trick to make you think you are getting a higher price per ton over their competitor if the competitor is paying or quoting on a net ton basis. Most customers who call asking for prices on ferrous material are shopping the different yard to see who is paying the most. We quote all our ferrous prices in net tons as do all the other yards in my area.

For example lets say my scale price for sheet iron (tin, shredables) is $130.00 per net ton. If some yard were to quote that at gross tons it would be $145.00 per ton. An unsuspecting customer calling for price might think they are getting a better price per ton at that other yard compared to mine and deliver their material their. The only thing is it would take 2240 lbs to make a ton at that yard. If they had a total of 1300 lbs they would have been paid $84.50 at my yard. They would have been paid $84.15 at the other yard. The difference is caused by rounding down the gross ton amount. No one is going to quote a price as $145.60. If they rounded up the customer would have gotten a little extra at the other yard but they still basically received the same amount as they would have at $130.00 per net ton.

If a yard is quoting you a price of $140 per gross ton you are getting paid the same price as $125 per net ton or $0.0625/pound.

Let me know if you have any other questions about gross and net tons. Yes it can get confusing. Just remember the magic number is 1.12