Import to USA and then Recycle?

**YakScrap** · 04-22-2022, 04:43 PM

What should I look out for if I'm importing copper wire from abroad to the US and then sending to a recycle plant?

**mthomasdev** · 04-23-2022, 04:15 PM

Originally Posted by YakScrap

What should I look out for if I'm importing copper wire from abroad to the US and then sending to a recycle plant?

If there was any way to make money doing this,. 1000's of members here would be doing it. If a recycling facility needed that copper, they would buy it direct.

**CopperMiner** · 04-23-2022, 06:01 PM

Originally Posted by mthomasdev

If there was any way to make money doing this,. 1000's of members here would be doing it. If a recycling facility needed that copper, they would buy it direct.

That's what I also had in mind. How can you be competitive against Asian cheap labour and low container rates to Asia doing that? Westerners were dumping their eWaste in China and they're also importing our scrap steel. Indians and Turks are sorting the soft plastics hard to resell/recycle here. That's just my opinion, but it would better to find a cheap source in North America that generate tons of wire and that needs added value to flip it at its full value.

**JJinLV** · 04-23-2022, 06:37 PM

It's easy. Just look for something you can buy cheaper than you can sell! A fair amount of wire comes across both the Mexican and Canadian borders as well as from the Caribbean so there are opportunities but realistically you'll be competing with long established businesses since the only exporters are scrapyards who already have multiple sales options. No one else has quantities worth exporting and usually you'll be competing with metal companies that buy more than wire making for quicker sales times for exporters. The most likely opportunities and best margins will be with lower grade wires below 50% recovery. Good luck. You'll need it