Sellers often assume the price they are quoted is a mark-up decision made in an office. In reality most of it is set before anyone looks at your load.
1. The exchange
The London Metal Exchange sets the underlying figure for copper, aluminium, lead, zinc and nickel. It moves daily. A quote given on Monday is not a promise about Thursday, which is why our board is indicative and the firm price is fixed on the weighbridge.
2. Grade
What the refiner has to do to your metal before it can be used. Cleaner material needs less processing and earns more. This is the one part of the equation you control.
3. Yield
How much saleable metal is actually in the load. Moisture, attachments, plastic, concrete and general contamination all come off the weight. We itemise these deductions rather than folding them into a single lower rate, so you can see where the tonnage went.
4. Logistics
Distance, access and how full the vehicle goes back. A two-tonne load down a narrow lane costs more to collect than twenty tonnes off a loading bay, and the quote reflects that. Because our fleet is our own, this is one of the few places we have real room to move.
5. Volume and consistency
Regular arisings of a known grade are worth more to us than an unpredictable one-off, because we can commit them to a mill in advance. If you produce scrap steadily, say so — it usually changes the number.
Leave a Reply