Laem Chabang is Thailand's busiest port, handling around ten thousand containers a day. It is also where the country has concentrated its enforcement against mis-declared waste, which matters to anyone shipping genuine scrap metal into Thailand.
Scrap metal prices per kg in Laem Chabang
| Scrap type | Price (THB) | Change | Global reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-ferrous (per kg) | |||
| Copper Scrap | THB 397.78 / kg | ▲ +2.30% | $5.78 / lb |
| Aluminum Scrap | THB 55.74 / kg | ▲ +1.25% | $0.81 / lb |
| Brass Scrap | THB 240.87 / kg | ▲ +1.45% | $3.50 / lb |
| Stainless Steel Scrap | THB 39.23 / kg | ▲ +0.00% | $0.57 / lb |
| Lead Scrap | THB 40.60 / kg | ▲ +0.00% | $0.59 / lb |
| Zinc Scrap | THB 61.94 / kg | ▲ +0.00% | $0.90 / lb |
| Battery Scrap | THB 15.83 / kg | ▲ +0.00% | $0.23 / lb |
| Radiator Scrap | THB 228.48 / kg | ▲ +2.15% | $3.32 / lb |
| Wire Scrap | THB 192.01 / kg | ▲ +2.20% | $2.79 / lb |
| Cable Scrap | THB 128.01 / kg | ▲ +2.20% | $1.86 / lb |
| Electronic Scrap | THB 55.06 / kg | ▲ +2.56% | $0.80 / lb |
| Ferrous and bulk (per tonne) | |||
| Steel Scrap | THB 10,323 / tonne | ▲ +0.00% | $300 / ton |
| Iron Scrap | THB 9,084 / tonne | ▲ +0.00% | $264 / ton |
| Car Scrap | THB 12,388 / tonne | ▲ +0.00% | $360 / ton |
| Cast Iron | THB 9,910 / tonne | ▲ +0.00% | $288 / ton |
Indicative dealer prices for clean, sorted scrap in Thailand, shown here for Laem Chabang. Individual yards quote around this level by grade, volume and condition; the derivation from exchange benchmarks and the exchange rate (1 USD = 33.57 THB) is described in the methodology section below.
Laem Chabang scrap price chart (THB)
Daily open, high, low and close for the most traded scrap metals in THB, the same series Laem Chabang yards price against. Scroll to zoom and drag to move along the timeline.
Price history could not be loaded.
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The scrap market in Laem Chabang
Laem Chabang sits in Chonburi on the eastern seaboard, with the Laem Chabang Industrial Estate alongside it and the Amata City and Pinthong estates nearby. Port-linked manufacturing, logistics and automotive work concentrate here, which generates its own steady stream of industrial scrap.
The port's other significance is regulatory. In April 2026 a high-level inspection of illegal containers took place here, involving Thailand's Department of Special Investigation, the Customs Department, the Ecological Alert and Recovery Foundation, the Basel Action Network and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Between April 2025 and March 2026, hundreds of suspicious containers were detected.
The detail that should concern honest exporters is what those containers were declared as. The first twelve examined were declared as scrap metal from Haiti and found to contain undeclared mixed electronic waste. A clean container of sorted metal now arrives at a port where that declaration has been used as cover.
- Province
- Chonburi
- Currency
- Thai baht (THB), quoted per kilogram
- Port
- Laem Chabang, around 10,000 containers a day
- Why it matters
- Where mis-declared waste is intercepted
Where the scrap yards are in Laem Chabang
- Laem Chabang Port and its container terminals, around 10,000 boxes a day.
- Laem Chabang Industrial Estate, strong in port-linked manufacturing and automotive work.
- The Amata City Chonburi and Pinthong estates nearby, generating industrial scrap.
What pays well in Laem Chabang
- Automotive and manufacturing offcut from the surrounding estates.
- Sorted non-ferrous from port-linked industry.
- Clean, single-grade material, which is what the import regime rewards and the local buyers prefer.
Selling scrap metal in Laem Chabang: rules, ID and payment
For imported material this is where the rules become real. Thailand permits metal on the condition that aluminium, copper and steel are separated and cleaned in the country of origin, and the electronic waste ban covers 463 items since June 2025. Document the load before it is sealed, keep photographs, and expect a scrap metal declaration to be checked rather than waved through. For a domestic sale in Chonburi, none of this applies and the usual practice is enough.
Before any sale, check the live board above, sort by grade and get quotes from two or three buyers; the best scrap price guide covers the routine and the calculator turns a weight into a figure at today's price. To judge whether a local quote is competitive, our note on telling a well-paying yard from a headline rate sets out the benchmark test.
Laem Chabang scrap price FAQ
What is the scrap copper price in Laem Chabang today?
As of the latest update, the indicative price for clean number 1 copper is about THB 397.78 per kg in THB. Laem Chabang yards typically quote within a few percent of that figure either side, depending on grade, volume and the buyer; the live board above shows all fifteen grades.
How big is Laem Chabang?
It is Thailand's busiest port, handling an average of around ten thousand shipping containers a day.
What happened at Laem Chabang in 2026?
A high-level inspection of illegal containers took place in the first half of 2026, involving the Department of Special Investigation, the Customs Department, the Ecological Alert and Recovery Foundation, the Basel Action Network and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Hundreds of suspicious containers had been detected over the preceding year.
Does this affect legitimate scrap shipments?
It affects the scrutiny they receive. The first twelve containers examined were declared as scrap metal and found to hold undeclared e-waste, so the declaration itself now attracts attention. Clean documentation and pre-shipment records matter more than they used to.
Are Laem Chabang prices different from the national board?
The board on this page is the Thailand indicative level, and Laem Chabang yards trade around it rather than exactly on it. Local competition, freight to the nearest consumer and the day's export demand set the spread, which is why two quotes in the same city can differ by several percent on the same morning.
Sources and methodology
The Laem Chabang board uses the Thailand indicative prices: global exchange benchmarks (COMEX copper, CME aluminum and steel, NYMEX platinum and palladium, IMF monthly lead, zinc and nickel) multiplied by typical yard recovery shares, a local market factor of 0.93 and the day's exchange rate. The full method, the recovery shares and the correction policy are on our editorial policy page; local notes on this page are reviewed against published dealer information and reader corrections sent to info@scrappricetoday.com.
Prices are indicative and for information only; they are not offers to buy or sell. Yard quotes in Laem Chabang vary by grade, volume, condition and buyer.
Nearby and related
Scrap metal prices in Thailand · All countries · Catalytic converter prices