What are y'all, especially those that have a lot of quantity, doing with your metal?

Hey guys, I'm back with another question. What are you doing with your metal? I briefly (a few months) operated a depot that bought from the public until it got to where prices were too poor to operate with any reasonable profit margin. Thankfully, I use the property for my main business, so i'm not wasting money. However, I have close to 700 tons of steel on the property, I have 19 tons of various types copper, and 23 of aluminum as well as much smaller quantities of everything else recyclable under the sun. Should I sit on it until prices rise? I've no need for the money but is it worth tying up capital for a year to hope prices rise? I wish I could go back in time a year and sell at those prices......

The yard I contract for is shipping that stuff as fast as we can cut it (contractors) and as fast as they can cut it. It's not gonna make a dent in the pile tho. Scrap piles are huge and the flow isn't stopping. It's a scrapyard so it is what it is. What are they gonna do tell the customers no thanks we don't want ur metal. That's not ever gonna happen.

I am not sure, some places are not buying shred anymore. I would get rid of it ASAP. But then again what if every scrapper just held on to all there stuff until prices rise? I can't hold on to mine, space and $ needs... I do feel the "flow" of scrap volume is dropping as some of us that can hoard it and wait it out are doing so. Problem is what happens when no one wants to buy it?

I sell my metal. What else would I do with it?

Follow up question, do you think it would be wise to dump shred and just buy cars at scrap prices or just above for a pick a part lot of some sort?

Originally Posted by SteelMill

I reckon the smartest thing to do is go ahead and sell it, I just hate to think I could make more off of it waiting a year. Oh well, all jokes aside spinroch, I do love scrap metal projects. I'm working on a rat rod right now and there's a smoker as well as hopefully a new dump trailer in the works. Just need to find a nice gooseneck design I like......



Edit: Actually, I'm a pretty proficient welder and I often make things for extra money when I feel like firing up the welder and I've been making forks for bucket loaders like these:



I can sell a set for $150 and produce them for $25-$35. I can't make them fast enough to keep up with demand seeing as it's a weekend/after work type of deal. If only I could throw an extra day or three in a week.

That is always the question when selling, if I wait can I make more?
Question should be, if I sell do I profit?
You'll drive yourself crazy trying to speculate what price's will be in a year from now.

Originally Posted by SteelMill

Edit: Actually, I'm a pretty proficient welder and I often make things for extra money when I feel like firing up the welder and I've been making forks for bucket loaders like these:
.

Ha ha. I'm a welder too, Fitter/turner/welder. Weldings great, probably the greatest thing ever.

If theres ever something, a welder can think, design, create and make it.
If it wasn't for that welder guy, it simply would not have happened.

I was just on another site looking at some clandestine photos. Anybody could make or do anything in those photos, but the first thing you really see is that without a welder it would all be just dreams.
In a 'chicken or egg' scenario. The welder always comes first.

I have spent years 'chasing sparks'. Gimme a 9 inch grinder and a welder and I can make it. (more about those in a different thread..)