KyleStar
Greenie
- #1
Thread Owner
I've been hauling to two different yards the last couple of weeks and comparing notes with other scrappers online, so here is where scrap metal prices stand heading into October 2026, plus the habits that keep your payout honest. When I lived in Colombia, the local metal buyers repriced everything off the day's rate, and honestly it is the same game here, just with a bigger board.
Copper is still the headliner. Bare bright pays the most, then #1, then #2, then insulated wire, and the spread between grades is where the money is. A bucket of mixed copper prices out at the worst grade in it, so sort at home, not in the yard parking lot. And if the wire is thin, like lamp cord or Christmas lights, the labor to strip it almost never pays. Do the math before you reach for the stripper.
Aluminum is a volume game: cans, siding, cast, extrusions, all priced differently, and anything painted or dirty drops you a tier. Keep a magnet in your pocket. If it sticks, it is steel and it does not belong in the nonferrous bucket. Mixing one steel bracket into a load of clean aluminum is the fastest way to lose money on a ticket.
A few habits that actually move the number. Call ahead, because the board price and the phone price are sometimes different, especially on nonferrous. Ask whether the quote is for clean or dirty material before they dump your bucket. Bring ID, since most states require it for nonferrous sales now. And read the ticket before you sign it.
Curious what everyone else is seeing this week. Are your local numbers lining up with this, or is your region running hot or cold?
Steel and iron are heavy and cheap, priced by the ton, not the pound. A junk car is mostly steel, which is why cars get priced by weight. This fall most US yards are paying roughly $140 to $200 a ton for a complete car, which is how a typical sedan lands in that familiar $250 to $750 range. If cars are your main scrap source, here is a solid breakdown of how junkyards price cars.
Copper is still the headliner. Bare bright pays the most, then #1, then #2, then insulated wire, and the spread between grades is where the money is. A bucket of mixed copper prices out at the worst grade in it, so sort at home, not in the yard parking lot. And if the wire is thin, like lamp cord or Christmas lights, the labor to strip it almost never pays. Do the math before you reach for the stripper.
Aluminum is a volume game: cans, siding, cast, extrusions, all priced differently, and anything painted or dirty drops you a tier. Keep a magnet in your pocket. If it sticks, it is steel and it does not belong in the nonferrous bucket. Mixing one steel bracket into a load of clean aluminum is the fastest way to lose money on a ticket.
A few habits that actually move the number. Call ahead, because the board price and the phone price are sometimes different, especially on nonferrous. Ask whether the quote is for clean or dirty material before they dump your bucket. Bring ID, since most states require it for nonferrous sales now. And read the ticket before you sign it.
Curious what everyone else is seeing this week. Are your local numbers lining up with this, or is your region running hot or cold?
Steel and iron are heavy and cheap, priced by the ton, not the pound. A junk car is mostly steel, which is why cars get priced by weight. This fall most US yards are paying roughly $140 to $200 a ton for a complete car, which is how a typical sedan lands in that familiar $250 to $750 range. If cars are your main scrap source, here is a solid breakdown of how junkyards price cars.
see you later.
