Ferrous scrap is graded on two measurements, thickness and piece size, and nothing else about the steel matters as much. Material at least a quarter inch thick and cut under 60 by 24 inches is prepared; the same steel left in long lengths is unprepared and trades at a discount. On published counter rates that gap runs from about $0.06 to $0.105 a pound, which is $90 a short ton, or $360 on a filled roll-off.
Scrap Price Today market analysis, written from exchange settlement data, mill and refiner pricing practice and published policy documents. Figures are examples; today's numbers are on the live scrap price board.
This is the ferrous equivalent of the copper grade ladder, and it is far simpler because it comes down to a tape measure.
The two measurements that set the grade
Thickness
Thickness separates the heavy grades from the light ones and it is a hard line in the published specifications.
- A quarter inch or thicker qualifies as HMS 1, the reference grade against which ferrous scrap is priced worldwide.
- An eighth of an inch or thicker qualifies as HMS 2, which also permits galvanised material and some automotive scrap.
- Thinner than an eighth of an inch falls into sheet iron, light iron or shred feed, which is where most household material lands.
That is why a cast iron bath and a filing cabinet, both obviously steel, sit in different price lines. One is thick section and the other is folded sheet.
Piece size
Size is the part sellers control, and the specifications are specific.
- The common maximum is 60 by 24 inches, with some specifications tightening to 36 by 18 inches.
- Busheling is a separate grade of clean new steel clippings, with no piece larger than 12 inches in any dimension.
- Anything longer sits in the unprepared category regardless of how good the steel is.
Yard practice is usually more conservative than the written specification. Where a spec says five feet, many yards tell customers four feet, to be certain everything they buy is inside the limit when it reaches the mill.
Why mills care about size at all
This is the part that makes the rule make sense rather than feel arbitrary.
An electric arc furnace is charged from a basket, and the material has to fit, sit densely, and melt evenly. Guaranteed minimum thickness gives a consignment high density, which minimises the time to charge enough scrap for a full melt. Thin, tangled, oversized material greatly increases charging time and cuts furnace productivity.
There is a second problem at the other extreme. Very small pieces melt fast but can bridge in the furnace, forming a scaffold that traps unmelted material above the molten bath. The ideal charge mixes dense base pieces such as HMS 1 and plate with smaller filler such as shredded and busheling.
So the mill is not buying steel. It is buying a charge that behaves predictably, and your tape measure is what makes your steel part of one.
What preparation is worth
Published counter rates put number 2 unprepared steel at roughly $0.05 to $0.07 a pound, with prepared heavy grades sitting above it.
| Load | Unprepared at $0.06 | Prepared at $0.105 | Uplift |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pickup load, 1,500 lb | $90 | $158 | $68 |
| Trailer, 4,000 lb | $240 | $420 | $180 |
| Roll-off, 8,000 lb | $480 | $840 | $360 |
| Roll-off, 20,000 lb | $1,200 | $2,100 | $900 |
That is a 75 percent uplift for cutting, which is why demolition contractors own shears and why yards that do not own a shredder use the plate and structural grade as their preparation route.
The labour test is straightforward. At $0.045 a pound of uplift, you need to cut down about 444 pounds of steel an hour to earn $20 an hour from the work. On heavy plate and beam that is achievable with a decent saw or torch. On tangled light material it is not, which is exactly why light iron is not worth cutting.
The grades you will actually be quoted
Heavy melting steel
The backbone grade, traded internationally as a blend. Premium blends run 80 parts HMS 1 to 20 parts HMS 2, with lower mixes at 70:30 and 60:40. Export cargo pricing is quoted on these blends, which is the number our steel analysis tracks against the domestic board.
Plate and structural
Cut beams, plate, angle and channel. This is the grade a processor without a shredder can produce with a shear, and it prices at the top of the cut grades.
Shredded
Magnetically separated output from a shredder, mostly car bodies and appliances. It commands a premium over heavy melting steel in some markets, around $20 a tonne on published export assessments, and no premium at all in others.
Busheling
Clean new production clippings, nothing over 12 inches. The cleanest and most predictable ferrous grade, and the one mills pay most for.
Light iron and sheet
Thin gauge, appliances, ducting, folded sheet. The bottom of the ferrous board and the grade most household material falls into, as our scrap value index shows item by item.
Preparation that pays, and preparation that does not
- Cut structural and plate to size. This is where the entire uplift lives.
- Remove non-ferrous attachments. Copper, brass and aluminium fittings are worth many times the steel and drag the load down if left on.
- Strip motors out of machinery. They are their own grade, covered in our motors and compressors analysis.
- Do not bother cutting light sheet. The uplift does not exist and the time is wasted.
- Keep cast iron separate. It is a distinct grade at most yards.
- Leave rust alone. Surface rust does not change the grade; oil, paint, soil and concrete do.
A note on our own ferrous figures
Our board carries ferrous scrap at $300 a short ton, light iron at $264 and cast iron at $288. Those are index-derived wholesale references anchored to published export parity, not counter prices for a small load.
Published retail rates for small quantities sit well below them, which we set out in detail in our cast iron salvage analysis. Use our board for direction and comparison between markets, and your yard's posted rate for what a specific load will pay.
What this metal pays around the world
Scrap is a global market priced in US dollars, but what reaches a seller depends on trade position, freight to the nearest consumer and how many buyers compete locally. The table below converts the same grade into each market’s own currency and units at the day’s exchange rate, and shows the factor we apply.
| Market | Local price | USD per ton | Market factor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | ₺16,667 / tonne | $312 | 1.04 |
| Germany | €290 / tonne | $306 | 1.02 |
| United States | $300 / ton | $300 | 1.00 |
| China | CN¥2,178 / tonne | $294 | 0.98 |
| Canada | C$402 / ton | $291 | 0.97 |
| United Kingdom | £235 / tonne | $288 | 0.96 |
| Australia | A$436 / tonne | $285 | 0.95 |
| United Arab Emirates | AED1,154 / tonne | $285 | 0.95 |
| Saudi Arabia | SAR1,153 / tonne | $279 | 0.93 |
| India | ₹28,765 / tonne | $276 | 0.92 |
| Bangladesh | ৳35,773 / tonne | $264 | 0.88 |
| South Africa | R4,485 / tonne | $255 | 0.85 |
Method
Thickness and size specifications are taken from published scrap specification circulars and industry references and are summarised rather than reproduced. Individual yards apply their own tolerances, usually stricter than the written spec, so confirm the size limit your yard works to before cutting anything.
Counter rates for unprepared steel are from published buyer listings and vary substantially by region and volume. The prepared figure used in the uplift table is an assumed mid-range rather than a quoted rate, so treat the percentage uplift as the durable finding and the dollar figures as illustrative.
Our own board prices are documented on the editorial policy page with live figures on the board.
Questions people ask
What does prepared mean in ferrous scrap?
Steel cut to a size a mill can charge directly into a furnace, commonly no larger than 60 by 24 inches and in some specifications 36 by 18. The same steel left in long lengths is unprepared and sells at a discount because the buyer absorbs the cutting cost.
What is the difference between HMS 1 and HMS 2?
Thickness and what is permitted. HMS 1 requires wrought iron or steel at least a quarter inch thick and excludes galvanised material. HMS 2 allows down to an eighth of an inch and permits galvanised and some automotive scrap, so it prices below HMS 1.
How much more does prepared steel pay?
On published counter rates, unprepared number 2 steel runs about $0.05 to $0.07 a pound with prepared heavy grades above it. Using $0.06 against $0.105, the uplift is $0.045 a pound, or $90 a short ton and $360 on a filled 8,000 pound roll-off.
Is it worth cutting steel down myself?
On heavy plate, beam and structural, usually yes. At $0.045 a pound of uplift you need to cut about 444 pounds an hour to earn $20 an hour, which a decent saw or torch achieves on thick section. On thin sheet and tangled light material the uplift does not exist.
Why do mills care what size the pieces are?
Because an electric arc furnace is charged from a basket and the charge has to fit, sit densely and melt evenly. Guaranteed thickness gives high density and fast charging, while oversized tangled material slows charging and cuts furnace productivity.
What is busheling?
Clean new steel clippings from manufacturing, with no piece larger than 12 inches in any dimension. It is the cleanest and most predictable ferrous grade, generated by factories rather than by demolition, and mills pay a premium for it.
Does rust lower my grade?
Surface rust does not. What lowers a ferrous grade is attached non-ferrous metal, oil, paint, soil, concrete and non-metallic debris, all of which the mill has to deal with. Do not spend time wire-brushing steel before a yard visit.
Why is shredded scrap sometimes worth more than heavy melting steel?
Because it is uniform, magnetically separated and predictable in a furnace charge. Published export assessments have shown premiums of around $20 a tonne for shred over heavy melting steel in some markets and no premium at all in others, so it depends where the cargo is going.
Frequently asked questions
What does prepared mean in ferrous scrap?
Steel cut to a size a mill can charge directly into a furnace, commonly no larger than 60 by 24 inches and in some specifications 36 by 18. The same steel left in long lengths is unprepared and sells at a discount because the buyer absorbs the cutting cost.
What is the difference between HMS 1 and HMS 2?
Thickness and what is permitted. HMS 1 requires wrought iron or steel at least a quarter inch thick and excludes galvanised material. HMS 2 allows down to an eighth of an inch and permits galvanised and some automotive scrap, so it prices below HMS 1.
How much more does prepared steel pay?
On published counter rates, unprepared number 2 steel runs about $0.05 to $0.07 a pound with prepared heavy grades above it. Using $0.06 against $0.105, the uplift is $0.045 a pound, or $90 a short ton and $360 on a filled 8,000 pound roll-off.
Is it worth cutting steel down myself?
On heavy plate, beam and structural, usually yes. At $0.045 a pound of uplift you need to cut about 444 pounds an hour to earn $20 an hour, which a decent saw or torch achieves on thick section. On thin sheet and tangled light material the uplift does not exist.
Why do mills care what size the pieces are?
Because an electric arc furnace is charged from a basket and the charge has to fit, sit densely and melt evenly. Guaranteed thickness gives high density and fast charging, while oversized tangled material slows charging and cuts furnace productivity.
What is busheling?
Clean new steel clippings from manufacturing, with no piece larger than 12 inches in any dimension. It is the cleanest and most predictable ferrous grade, generated by factories rather than by demolition, and mills pay a premium for it.
Does rust lower my grade?
Surface rust does not. What lowers a ferrous grade is attached non-ferrous metal, oil, paint, soil, concrete and non-metallic debris, all of which the mill has to deal with. Do not spend time wire-brushing steel before a yard visit.
Why is shredded scrap sometimes worth more than heavy melting steel?
Because it is uniform, magnetically separated and predictable in a furnace charge. Published export assessments have shown premiums of around $20 a tonne for shred over heavy melting steel in some markets and no premium at all in others, so it depends where the cargo is going.