Scrap Price Today is an independent price-tracking site for the scrap metal trade, run from offices in the United States and the United Arab Emirates. This page explains how we compile prices, how we write and review guides, how to request a correction, and how we keep the site independent of the buyers and sellers it covers.
How prices are compiled
Benchmark prices are pulled automatically from public market data: COMEX copper, CME aluminum and CME US hot-rolled coil steel futures (daily), NYMEX platinum and palladium (daily), and the IMF monthly price series for lead, zinc and nickel published through FRED. Exchange rates for the country pages come from a daily open exchange-rate feed. Each scrap grade is then derived from its benchmark using a typical yard recovery share: the portion of the benchmark a yard pays for that grade after refining, processing, freight and margin (for example about 87 percent of COMEX copper for number 1 copper and about 25 percent of the HRC steel price for heavy melting scrap). The shares are listed in the tables below and reviewed against published yard price lists.
Country boards take the global reference in US dollars, apply a local market factor that reflects demand, freight and trade rules, and convert the result to local currency and units. Each country page states the exchange rate and factor it uses.
Benchmarks refresh twice a day and every page shows the time of its latest update. If a feed is temporarily unavailable, the last fetched value is kept and its date is shown in the table below; rhodium has no public daily feed and is held as a dealer reference value.
Benchmarks and recovery shares
| Benchmark | Source | Unit | Latest | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper | COMEX copper futures (Daily feed) | USD per lb | 6.68 | Sep 7, 2026 |
| Aluminum | CME aluminum futures (Daily feed) | USD per tonne | 3,473 | Sep 7, 2026 |
| Hrc | CME US hot-rolled coil steel (Daily feed) | USD per ton | 1,243 | Sep 7, 2026 |
| Scrap_ferrous | BLS iron and steel scrap index, anchored to export parity (Monthly series) | USD per ton | 300 | Jul 1, 2026 |
| Platinum | NYMEX platinum futures (Daily feed) | USD per oz | 1,826 | Sep 7, 2026 |
| Palladium | NYMEX palladium futures (Daily feed) | USD per oz | 1,404 | Sep 7, 2026 |
| Lead | IMF lead price (monthly) (Monthly series) | USD per tonne | 1,843 | Jul 1, 2026 |
| Zinc | IMF zinc price (monthly) (Monthly series) | USD per tonne | 3,594 | Jul 1, 2026 |
| Nickel | IMF nickel price (monthly) (Monthly series) | USD per tonne | 16,632 | Jul 1, 2026 |
| Rhodium | Rhodium (dealer reference) (Reference value) | USD per oz | 9,425 | Sep 7, 2026 |
| Scrap grade | Derived from | Share of benchmark | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper Scrap | Copper x 87% | 87% | per lb |
| Aluminum Scrap | Aluminum x 55% | 55% | per lb |
| Brass Scrap | Copper x 46.8% + Zinc x 25.2% | 72% | per lb |
| Stainless Steel Scrap | Nickel x 7.5% | 7.5% | per lb |
| Steel Scrap | Scrap_ferrous x 100% | 100% | per ton |
| Iron Scrap | Scrap_ferrous x 88% | 88% | per ton |
| Lead Scrap | Lead x 70% | 70% | per lb |
| Zinc Scrap | Zinc x 55% | 55% | per lb |
| Car Scrap | Scrap_ferrous x 120% | 120% | per ton |
| Battery Scrap | Lead x 27% | 27% | per lb |
| Radiator Scrap | Copper x 50% | 50% | per lb |
| Wire Scrap | Copper x 42% | 42% | per lb |
| Cable Scrap | Copper x 28% | 28% | per lb |
| Cast Iron | Scrap_ferrous x 96% | 96% | per ton |
| Electronic Scrap | Copper x 12% | 12% | per lb |
| Bare Bright Copper | Copper x 93% | 93% | per lb |
| Number 1 Copper | Copper x 89% | 89% | per lb |
| Number 2 Copper | Copper x 82% | 82% | per lb |
| Light Copper | Copper x 66% | 66% | per lb |
| Tinned Copper | Copper x 80% | 80% | per lb |
| Irony Copper | Copper x 55% | 55% | per lb |
| THHN Wire | Copper x 40% | 40% | per lb |
| Romex Wire | Copper x 35% | 35% | per lb |
| Communication Wire | Copper x 26% | 26% | per lb |
| Copper Pipe and Tubing | Copper x 87% | 87% | per lb |
| Copper Roofing and Sheet | Copper x 66% | 66% | per lb |
| Copper Bus Bar | Copper x 90% | 90% | per lb |
What the prices are and are not
Every price on the site is indicative: a reference for planning a sale or a purchase, not an offer to buy or sell and not financial advice. Actual yard prices depend on grade, quantity, condition, location and the buyer. Our disclaimer sets this out in full.
How guides and articles are produced
Guides are written by the Scrap Price Today editorial team from exchange data, recycler grade specifications, mill programs, trade association statistics and published yard terms, and each guide lists its sources. Drafting tools, including AI-assisted writing software, may be used in preparation; every page is checked against the sources it cites and reviewed by a person before it is published, and the review month is shown on the page.
We write for people who sell, buy or study scrap, in plain language, and we update pages when the market, the rules or the data change.
Published corrections
- Our ferrous scrap board was previously derived from hot-rolled coil futures. Because finished steel and scrap diverged sharply this year, that method overstated the twelve-month move in scrap. The series is now based on the US producer price index for iron and steel scrap, anchored to published export-parity levels.
- Our rhodium reference had fallen behind the published refiner price and was updated after review.
- A market news article stated that catalytic converter prices had been flat. Platinum and palladium had in fact risen sharply over twelve months, and the article was rewritten.
Corrections
If something on this site is wrong, I would rather hear it than leave it up. This is how that works, so you know what to expect before you write.
What to send
Email info@scrappricetoday.com with the page address, the figure or statement you are questioning, and what you believe is correct. A source helps but is not required; if you sell into a market every week and the number here does not match what you are being offered, that is worth knowing on its own.
What happens next
Acknowledged within two business days. You will get a reply from a person, not an automated receipt.
Checked against the original source. Prices are traced back to the exchange settlement and the grade ratio applied. Legal and regulatory statements are checked against the legislation or the issuing authority. Yard listings are checked against the register entry they came from.
Fixed or explained. If it is wrong it is corrected. If it is right, you will be told why, with the source, so you can judge it yourself. Disagreeing with an indicative price is not the same as the price being wrong, and the reply will say which of the two it is.
How corrections are shown
A factual error is corrected and dated on the page. A note is added saying what changed and when. Corrections are not made silently, and nothing is quietly deleted to make a page look as though it was always right.
A typographical fix is made without a note. Spelling, a broken link or a formatting fault does not need a correction notice.
A figure that has simply moved is not a correction. Prices change daily by design. The board carries its own date, and a reader looking at last week's number is looking at last week's market.
If you operate a scrap yard
Listings come from official registers and each one names its source. You can ask for:
A correction to the name, address or details shown. Send the change and, where possible, a link to your own site or your licence record so it can be verified.
Details added that the register does not carry: opening hours, the materials you accept, a phone number or a website. These are published as coming from you, with the date.
Removal from the listings. A licensed site is public information, but if you want the entry taken down it will be taken down, and you do not have to give a reason.
Requests are verified before anything is published or changed, which usually takes a few days. That check protects both of us: it is also what stops someone else altering your listing.
What is not corrected on request
An indicative price, because a yard would pay differently. Local prices vary by buyer, and the site says so throughout. If the published figure is materially out of line with a market rather than with one yard, that is a methodology question and it is worth raising as one.
An honest assessment that someone disagrees with. Where a guide says a machine does not pay back at low volume, or that a route is worse than the alternative, that stands unless the arithmetic behind it is wrong. If the arithmetic is wrong, show it, and it will be fixed.
Coverage cannot be bought or removed commercially. No payment is accepted to add, alter, favour or delete an entry or an assessment.
Independence and advertising
Scrap Price Today does not buy or sell scrap metal, does not take payment to list or rank any yard, dealer or buyer, and never adjusts a published price for a commercial partner. The site does not currently run advertising; if that changes, advertising and sponsored content will be clearly labeled and kept separate from price data and editorial content.
Privacy
How we handle visitor data is described in our privacy policy. We do not sell visitor information.
On where published prices come from and how far to trust them, the price sources guide compares user-reported and benchmark-derived models, including the limitations of the one used here.
Scrap Price Today is written by Kawsar, who has worked with scrap metal for ten years.
Contact
Editorial and data questions: info@scrappricetoday.com. Our office addresses are on the contact page.