The Hard Way to Steel Scrap Prices it’s been a long time since you loaded scrap steel on your truck, trailer or car and landed on the scrap yard. You know this load you have is heavy because there were so many little nails and screws and little bits that you really put together and packed tightly, so you drive extra slow and carefully.
You arrive at your local garden and are ready to sell the material you have. You weigh the scale, dump your material into funnels, a larger steel pile, or your junk yard, and return to the scale to weigh it. There was 4480 pounds of Light Iron in the truck and you’re wasting that money in your head anyway. What should you buy? At least $400-500 and that will help with your upcoming vacation and you couldn’t be more excited.
You go to the ticket office, show your driver’s license and you are paid. You are SO EXCITED, you don’t even count because you want to put it in your pocket and go home. You come home and you look at the receipt and it’s only $90…there must be a mistake but you read the receipt twice and it says light iron is $45 per ton….now you’re very confused.
Why Are Scrap Steel Prices So Low?
You’re probably confused and that’s why you’ll have to figure out what it is. Did the junkyard steal your hard-earned job from you? Is there an error? Let’s figure everything out. Initially, scrap steel and iron prices hit several-year lows, and some markets are even lower than they were in 2008, when the overall markets crashed.
Overall global demand for metals has dropped a lot, and so we’ve seen the prices of not just copper but steel, aluminum, stainless and nearly every other metal drop significantly. The market is in a big shift right now, and due to the world supply and demand for raw materials, there isn’t much room for people to see prices go up any time soon.
Oil Prices Affect Many Sectors, Including Scrap
Markets are in uncertainty and therefore steel and ferrous scrap prices will remain low and the oil price is a good indicator. The fact that oil prices are this low has affected many different sectors and you will have a hard time seeing the market revive anytime soon.
The overseas market needs an increased supply until oil prices stabilize, as shortages of raw materials and even the Presidential election are factors influencing markets. It is expected to be a tough market for steel and iron prices, so you shouldn’t be surprised if steel prices continue to stay low.
