Scrap Price Today publishes indicative scrap metal prices built from exchange settlement prices, published mill buying programs and dealer quotes, converted to the currency and units each market uses. Boards refresh daily, every page shows its last update, and any placeholder values are labeled “Sample data” until the live feed for that market is connected.
This page explains where each number comes from, how it is calculated, how often it changes and the standards we hold our editorial content to.
Where our prices come from
- Non-ferrous reference: settlement prices for copper, aluminum, lead, zinc and nickel from the London Metal Exchange and, for copper, COMEX.
- Ferrous reference: published steel mill buying programs and the import price Turkish mills pay for heavy melting scrap, the benchmark for the export trade.
- Yard level: dealer price lists and quotes collected from public boards and buyer lists in each market we cover.
- Precious metals: platinum, palladium and rhodium reference prices, used on the catalytic converter page.
- Grade definitions: the Recycled Materials Association specifications and the local grade names used in each country.
How a board price is calculated
Each scrap type starts from its reference price. We apply the share of that reference that recyclers pay for the grade, then a market factor for local demand, freight and trade rules, and finally the exchange rate and the units the market quotes in: pounds and short tons in North America, kilograms and tonnes elsewhere.
Every country page prints the exchange rate and market factor used for that market, so a reader can check the arithmetic. The global board on the homepage is the US dollar reference all country boards are built from.
Charts and history
The price charts show the daily open, high, low and close for the eight most traded scrap metals, plus hourly candles for the current session. Country charts use the same series converted to local currency and units, so a move on the global chart appears on every country chart on the same day.
Update schedule
- Price boards refresh once a day on trading days; the time of the latest update is printed on every page that shows prices.
- Guides are reviewed against the specifications and market data they cite, and the review is noted on each guide.
- Country and city pages are checked when the rules or the main buyers in that market change.
Sample data
While a market’s live feed is being connected, its board shows placeholder values labeled “Sample data”. These follow the same calculation with representative inputs and exist so that layouts, charts and calculators can be tested. They are not quotes and should not be used to price a sale. The label disappears automatically when live data replaces the placeholder.
Editorial standards
- Independence: we do not buy or sell scrap, we take no payment to list or rank any yard, and published prices are never adjusted for advertisers. Any sponsored content is labeled as such.
- Sources: every guide links to the exchange, association or regulation it relies on, and figures are quoted as ranges where the underlying data is a range.
- Plain language: we write for sellers, yard operators and traders, not for search engines, and we avoid claims we cannot support with a source.
- Review: prices are checked against their reference each day; editorial pages are reviewed when their sources change.
Corrections
If a price, rule or fact on this site looks wrong, email info@scrappricetoday.com or use the contact page. We check reports against our sources within two business days and correct the page; material corrections are noted on the page itself.
Who we are
Scrap Price Today is an independent price-tracking publisher with offices in the United States and the United Arab Emirates. Read more on our About page, and see the disclaimer and terms for how our data may be used.