One Thing Scrap Yards Won’t Tell You About Scrap Prices

scrap yards giving pricesSo you think that your local scrap yard has an “in” on where the market is headed…hmmm? Well, that is the wrong answer because many scrap yards do not know what is going on the same day…let alone going into the future. Scrap prices follow the commodities markets, and as we have talked about before, it is hard to gauge what is going to happen with gas, oil, and other prices going into the future.

Scrap Yards Won’t Tell You Where The Market Is Going

One thing that scrap yards will not try to tell you is what they think that the market and the metal prices are going to do. With so much uncertainty it is very difficult for yards to just guess what is going on, let alone what is going to be happening with future market prices.

The markets are not only unpredictable, but they are very tough to read going into the future. At one point in the mid-2000’s many said that oil would never dip below $100 per barrel, then when it got up to $140 per barrel and gas prices were at all-time highs many said that this is the new normal. Then going into 2015 the oil prices dipped below $40…in just 7-8 short years in between.

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Something Your Scrap Yard Should Do

If something as “stable” as oil goes all over the place why wouldn’t metals like copper, brass, steel and more do the same? One thing that a good scrap yard will try to do is to explain how the markets work, give their best guess on where they should be in the near future, but much further than that it is very hard to predict and really give an educated opinion on.

Organizations like ISRI (Institute of Scrap & Recycling Industries), represents the recycling industry and has great knowledge, but they often are only able to give historical statistics and not future advice either. While their information is very thorough and in-depth, it is like anything, just another piece of the puzzle in order to get the bigger picture put into perspective.

What Can You Do?

Because scrap yards keep the scrap price market somewhat hush from scrappers, we suggest using the iScrap App as a tool to report your scrap prices online and on the app to help you see prices in the area. Not only will it help with other scrappers in the area looking for prices, but it will allow you to go back and keep track of what prices you received last time at your scrap yard.

Suggested Reading: How Reported Scrap Metal Prices Can Help Your Earnings

Have Questions About Scrap Prices? Ask Us Below!

 

 


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