Scrap Metal Prices Plummet

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster) : If you’re looking to cash in on some scrap metal laying around your house, you might be disappointed.

Patti Folkman is the bearer of this bad news to customers stopping by Midwest Scrap Metal looking to make a few bucks.

Prices for scrap steel have tanked since the first of the year.

“$100 a ton, from where it was just a few months ago,” says Folkman, owner of Midwest Scrap Metal.

Scrap aluminum, stainless, brass, and even copper, have fallen over the last several months.

And according to Folkman, the reason lies overseas.

“China is a big buyer, they impact most of the buying, their economy has slowed down, so they don’t need it as much,” says Folkman.

Along with China’s decreased demand, labor disputes at many West Coast ports have affected shipments of containerized scrap.

In 2104, U.S. scrap metal exports to China fell 57-percent, and 17-percent overall.

Even though prices have plummeted, some say they will continue to recycle and get paid at least something because it beats the alternative.

“My philosophy is that things need to recycle and just to put it into the landfill is not a good thing for the whole country and for the environment,” says Sue Hebel of Green Bay.

Folkman hopes her other customers feel the same way, because according to industry experts, 2015 is shaping up to be a tough year in the scrap metal business.

“What are you going to do, we have to abide by the market, we don’t set the prices,” says Folkman.

Courtesy: www.wbay.com