Welcome to SMF.
As far as the cats, I would recommend you contact APA on this forum. I have not done business with his directly, but he has a good reputation on the forum and you might find shipping thru Govern would be beneficial to you. I do not know your definition of long distance, the closest yard to me is 60 miles one way. I have sold loads in Omaha which is over 300 miles away. I have also sold loads over 15 hrs. away. These deals are finalized before I hit the road.
Most scrap yards do not care about the distance you travel, just the quality of your load. With the loads you are talking about, this would be one strategy.
Be honest with what you have, under promise and over deliver.
Take pictures of a load and ask for a price. Try to a lock in on the price for 24 hrs. You can do this with several yards and select one based on price, distance, professionalism, etc.
From experience, yards on the river (access to barges in the spring), those near RR hubs (access to last minute gondola cars), and those with large contracts with foundries offer the most competitive pricing.
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