North American Scrap Prices Stabilize as Stainless Splits and E.C. Wire Slips
North American scrap buying benchmarks turned broadly quiet on October 2 after the previous session's non-ferrous weakness. Copper, brass/bronze and steel were unchanged, aluminum was flat except for a 1¢/lb decline in E.C. Aluminum Wire, while stainless steel posted mixed moves across the listed grades.
By Carolina Curiel
Published October 5, 2026
Market data: October 2, 2026
Summary Points
- Copper: All listed grades held steady after clean copper had fallen 6¢/lb in the previous session.
- Aluminum: Broadly unchanged, with E.C. Aluminum Wire the sole declining grade at 1¢/lb.
- Brass/Bronze: All listed grades stabilized following Thursday's declines.
- Stainless Steel: Mixed session, with 301 SS and 304 grades lower while 309 SS, 310 SS, 316 SS Solid and 330 SS moved higher.
- Steel: #1 HMS, busheling, bundles, shredded and other listed grades remained unchanged.
MONTREAL (Scrap Monster): North American scrap metal buying benchmarks entered the weekend on a quieter footing Friday, October 2, 2026, with most categories unchanged on the ScrapMonster Price Index.
The stabilization followed a much weaker October 1 session, when copper, aluminum and brass/bronze all moved lower.
On Friday, copper and brass stopped falling entirely. Aluminum was also broadly unchanged, except for another modest decline in E.C. Aluminum Wire.
Stainless steel provided the day's main movement, with declines in several common grades offset by gains elsewhere in the category.
| Metal | October 2 Move | Market Read |
|---|---|---|
| Copper | → Flat | Thursday's decline paused |
| Aluminum | ▼ Up to 1¢/lb | Only E.C. Aluminum Wire moved |
| Brass/Bronze | → Flat | Major grades stabilized |
| Stainless Steel | ↕ Mixed | 304 grades lower; higher alloys gained |
| Steel | → Flat | Ferrous benchmarks unchanged |
SCRAPMONSTER EDGE
Friday's main signal was stabilization, not another broad selloff. Clean copper stopped falling after Thursday's 6¢/lb decline, brass also held steady and almost the entire aluminum complex was unchanged. Stainless steel stood apart, with lower 301/304 benchmarks offset by gains in several higher-alloy grades.
Copper Scrap Prices
Copper showed no further weakness after recording the largest declines in the previous session.
#1 Copper Bare Bright, #1 Copper Wire and Tubing, #2 Copper Wire and Tubing and #3 Copper-Light Copper were all unchanged.
The flat reading followed declines of 6¢/lb in each of those major clean copper grades on October 1.
Alternator Scrap, #1 Insulated Copper Wire 85% Recovery and #2 Insulated Copper Wire 50% Recovery also recorded no movement.
Copper Radiator Scrap, Copper Transformer Scrap and Cu Yokes remained steady.
Cu/Al Radiator Ends, Cu/Al Radiators and Cu/Al Radiators/Fe were unchanged, as were Harness Wire 35% Recovery, Heater Cores, Romex Wire, Scrap Electric Motors, Starters, Sealed Units and Xmas Lights.
COPPER READ
The absence of a second consecutive decline is notable after Thursday's sharp move. Friday's Index did not reverse the earlier copper losses, but it showed that the downward adjustment did not immediately extend into another session.
Aluminum Scrap Prices
Aluminum was almost entirely unchanged.
E.C. Aluminum Wire was the only listed grade to move, falling 1¢/lb.
The move followed a 2¢/lb decline in the same grade during the previous session, making E.C. Aluminum Wire one of the more persistent areas of weakness in the aluminum benchmark set entering October.
1100 Scrap, 3003 Scrap, 356 Aluminum Wheels, 6063 Extrusions/Fe, 6063 Extrusions, 5052 Scrap and 6061 Extrusions were unchanged.
Al/Cu Radiators, Al/Cu Radiators/Fe, Aluminum Radiators, Aluminum Radiators/Fe, Aluminum Transformers and Breakage 50% Recovery also held steady.
Chrome Wheels, Litho Sheets, MLC Clips, Mixed Aluminum Turnings, Old Cast, UBC, Old Sheet, Painted Siding and Zorba 90% NF recorded no day-over-day variation.
Stainless Steel Scrap Prices
Stainless steel was the day's most active category, with the Index showing declines in several common grades and gains in higher-alloy material.
201 SS was unchanged.
301 SS, 304 SS Solid and 304 SS Turning each declined 1¢/lb.
In contrast, 309 SS and 316 SS Solid each gained 1¢/lb.
310 SS increased 2¢/lb, while 330 SS posted the largest positive move of the session at 3¢/lb.
| Stainless Grade | October 2 Move |
|---|---|
| 201 SS | → Flat |
| 301 SS | ▼ 1¢/lb |
| 304 SS Solid | ▼ 1¢/lb |
| 304 SS Turning | ▼ 1¢/lb |
| 309 SS | ▲ 1¢/lb |
| 310 SS | ▲ 2¢/lb |
| 316 SS Solid | ▲ 1¢/lb |
| 330 SS | ▲ 3¢/lb |
The available Index data establish the mixed grade movements but do not, by themselves, identify a specific underlying driver for the divergence.
Brass/Bronze Scrap Prices
Brass and bronze stabilized completely following the previous session's decline.
70/30 Brass Scrap, 80/20 Brass Scrap, 85/15 Brass Scrap and Brass Radiator Scrap were unchanged.
Brass Radiator/Fe and Brass Radiator Ends maintained their previous-day benchmarks.
Red Brass, Red Borings and Yellow Brass also recorded no movement.
Steel Scrap Prices
Steel remained unchanged across the listed North American benchmark grades.
#1 Bundle, #1 Busheling and #1 HMS were flat.
HMS 80/20, Sheet Metal, Shredded Auto Scrap and Structural Steel also maintained their previous-session levels.
That extended the recent period of stability across North American ferrous scrap benchmarks.
Market Read
October 2 brought a clear change in tone from the previous session.
Thursday had produced broad weakness in copper, aluminum and brass. By Friday, copper and brass had stopped moving lower and almost all aluminum grades were unchanged.
E.C. Aluminum Wire remained the exception, losing another 1¢/lb after already falling 2¢/lb on October 1.
Stainless steel became the most differentiated market. Lower 301 and 304 grades contrasted with gains in 309 SS, 310 SS, 316 SS Solid and 330 SS.
Steel remained entirely unchanged.
The result was therefore not a broad recovery, but a stabilization in most of the benchmark set after several days of non-ferrous pressure, with stainless steel providing the only meaningful two-way movement.
Benchmark buying-price move • Exact live price levels are available to ScrapMonster Premium members. Local quotes vary by grade and location.