Scrap metal prices up, down, or sideways? What's your bet. - Page 2

Originally Posted by unknownk

Originally Posted by diesel

Such a dismal outlook, we haven't put king oh-bummer back in office yet

Well car sales are doing decent (car financing is skyrocketing while credit card debt is slightly lower) yet steel isn't going crazy. People are tapped out and have less credit then they used to. China is slowing down because the US and Europe isn't buying as much of their junk (which will affect all scrap prices in the long run). Europe is going to fall apart and the US is broke spending monopoly money which will not last forever. it doesn't realy matter who runs the whitehouse anymore, the end result is the same policies that keep a few people very rich and the rest will live in poverty. Still waiting for the healthcare bubble to collapse, which is a crazy 15% of GDP and rising like crazy. The last few decent jobs around are healthcare based and when that implodes so does the country (heck most states and cities are broke now anyway and the US debt is never getting paid down let alone paid off).

I actually agree with your assessment entirely, king o-bummer or the rominator really makes no difference in the long term. Hang on and enjoy the ride, if bungee bumping off a cliff without a bungee is your style you'll love what our economy is about to do.

Originally Posted by LadyScrappers

I heard this from other scrappers around here. I know why scrap would go down, but why would precious metals go up?

Because people who are dumping stocks need to put that money into something, gold does well against inflation and is easy to sell later.

Well folks I have been hearing some bad news in my area that a couple of sales went off down. I think a lot of it has to do with a weakening market in Chicago. Keep your fingers crossed for sideways!

Well, I don't know about the rest of the country. Here in Gaston County NC ( where I sell scrap, not where i live ), shred is $.11lb, Brass went up to $1.63lb, copper is low, but holding and aluminum keeps on dropping. I am going to sit on my aluminum for a good while it seems. IF I can keep the thieves out of it, that is.

Heavy Melt has actually went up at my local yard. HM was $0.055lb now it is $0.075lb. Being that I get way more HM than anything else, that increase put a huge smile on this poor country boy's face.

Be Safe out there!!!

Originally Posted by theelectronrecycler

Well, I don't know about the rest of the country. Here in Gaston County NC ( where I sell scrap, not where i live ), shred is $.11lb, Brass went up to $1.63lb, copper is low, but holding and aluminum keeps on dropping. I am going to sit on my aluminum for a good while it seems. IF I can keep the thieves out of it, that is.

Heavy Melt has actually went up at my local yard. HM was $0.055lb now it is $0.075lb. Being that I get way more HM than anything else, that increase put a huge smile on this poor country boy's face.

Be Safe out there!!!

So let me get this straight...

Your yard pays $0.90 a lb. for refrigerators (as you stated in a previous post) and they pay you $0.75 a lb. for heavy melt? By my calculations you are making $1,500 a ton on your HMS and $1,800 a ton on fridges. Sorry buddy but I am gonna have to call shenanigans! Show me some proof or at least give me the company name so I can have ALL of my yards ferrous material shipped there ASAP.

Originally Posted by LadyScrappers

I heard this from other scrappers around here. I know why scrap would go down, but why would precious metals go up?

As they devalue the dollar by printing more of them and creating more debt, it drives PMs up as a hedge against inflation but suppresses the economy in general so commercial metals go down.

Hello new to the forum, it sound like it will stay sideways or go up.

I should have some current numbers for my area tomorrow :/

Copper In South Dakota.. is now at about 2.50 per pound.

Steel in TJN is at 52.00 a tonnage... For comptuer cases.. they say it this thick so it basically half or less then half price,

I goto Sioux City and I get 190 a tonnage

Originally Posted by BohemianLush

So let me get this straight...

Your yard pays $0.90 a lb. for refrigerators (as you stated in a previous post) and they pay you $0.75 a lb. for heavy melt? By my calculations you are making $1,500 a ton on your HMS and $1,800 a ton on fridges. Sorry buddy but I am gonna have to call shenanigans! Show me some proof or at least give me the company name so I can have ALL of my yards ferrous material shipped there ASAP.

Originally Posted by Mick

You forgot a zero in your calculations. He says he's getting $150 and $180 a ton.

It still doesn't make any sense that he would be getting paid $220.00/ton ($.11/pound) for shred and only $150.00/ton ($.075/pound) for HMS.

I don't know why you guys quote prices for ferrous items in pennies per pound. Does the yard you sell to give you prices in pennies per pound when you call looking for a price on something like shred that you want to sell or do they tell you they are paying so many dollars per ton for shred?

If the yard has it listed as pennies per pound on your receipts it is likely because they don't have an actually software program geared towards buying scrap metal and the only way they can get the program they are using to figure out what they owe you when they enter in the weight, is to enter the price per ton as pennies per pound. You see that a lot for yards that use Quickbooks for buying scrap.

If I called my buyer at the steel mill and said I want $0.XX/pound for me steel, he would think I've gone nuts.

Originally Posted by KeyCityRecycling

If the yard has it listed as pennies per pound on your receipts it is likely because they don't have an actually software program geared towards buying scrap metal and the only way they can get the program they are using to figure out what they owe you when they enter in the weight, is to enter the price per ton as pennies per pound. You see that a lot for yards that use Quickbooks for buying scrap.

I made my program for buying scrap.. I have it buying scrap by the pound. When people call I tell them the price per ton, unless they ask then I tell them the price per pound. I mean to get a ton you need 2000 pounds. So technically you can buy per pound. My receipts list per pound as well.

down 20 midwest...gerdau slowing in Jax tn....but no scrap see where it lands prob down 10 in the south!!

Yeah definitely a down market now. East coast not too bad maybe down $10. Midwest could be off as much as $30-$40 from what I am hearing. Here in Denver prices could be off $10-$20...should know by the end of the working day.

Just goes to show you that it's all speculation until your yard gets their sales off at the beginning of the month...

We are still waiting on solid numbers.

Originally Posted by camdaddy

i thought it would go up 2 weeks ago because in my area the past 5 yrs when gas goes up shred goes up but its stuck @ 8.25 a hundred, gas in NC is around 3.83

The yard I sold at yesterday was paying $12/100. I didn't have any shredder, only brass. It went $1.90 for yellow and $2.21 for red. #1 was $3.05.

Gotta love florida, prices keep going up for the past few weeks. I read what some of you guys/gals are getting and I say man I'm glad I live in florida. If you call my yards and ask for the price of steel they will give price per 100 lbs but pay by the pound. (If they say 9.00 per 100 lbs= .09 per pound or 180.00 per ton)