What Factors Affect the Price of Scrap Metal in Australia

Looking to clean out your yard or garage? Also want a quick way to make some extra money? Scrapping any old metal materials from around your home or workplace is a great way to have a clean up before Summer hits and line your pockets for the festive season.

However, before you load your trailer or ute and rush off to the nearest scrap metal yard, there are some key factors that you should familiarise yourself with – after all, they may impact how much money you are able to make from your scrap metal.

Quantity of the Scrap You Have

Many people believe that regardless of how much scrap metal they sell to the local scrap metal dealer, something is better than nothing. However, the quantity of the scrap metal you are wishing to sell plays a major role the the price you receive at the end of the day. When you take a larger quantity of scrap metal in for exchange, the more you have, the more negotiating power you will have with your scrap metal dealer.

Quality of the Scrap You Have

One thing to consider when selling your scrap steel is its quality. It’s not unusual for lower prices to be paid if your scrap metal is contaminated with insulation or even worse – corrosion. This is because the scrap metal dealer will need to clean it up and remove insulation and corrosion before they can on-sell it. Keep in mind – if you are looking to get the best price possible for your scrap metal that it should be clean and high quality.

Industry Demand

There are a range of industries that purchase and utilise scrap metal. These include construction, technology and even aerospace. Because the scrap metal business is largely based around supply and demand, if the industry purchasing the scrap metal is in their “off-season” or their supply is slow, then naturally, the demand will decrease. These demands directly impact the price of steel and cash for copper.

Understanding What You Can and Cannot Scrap

The other important thing to keep in mind is that it’s very possible to find a range of different scrap metals within one particular item. If this is the case, it’s important to understand that for this reason, your local scrap metal yard may not be able to accept every piece of scrap metal that you take to them. The reason behind this, is because when items consist of more than one type of metal it is increasingly difficult for them to extract and separate each component. This type of scrap metal requires a specialised scrap metal dealer, so before heading down to the local scrap yard, give them a call and discuss what type of materials you have and they will be able to advise you either way.

International Trading

Has the greatest impact on the prices offered for scrap metal across Australia. Countries such as India and China are the world’s’ largest importers of scrap metal and the quantity that they import along with exchange rates heavily impact the price in which scrap metal dealers can pay for your old pieces of scrap metal. But, keeping an eagle on the prices of scrap metal can be a big job, knowing what plays a part in the price however, it’s important.

Deal with a Reputable Scrap Business

Now that you have a better understanding of what factors affect the prices of scrap metal in Australia, and have some old scrap metal laying around your yard, why not use them to your benefit by contacting the team at Danny Scrap Metal today and put some cash back into your pocket.