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North American Copper Scrap Falls 13¢ as Steel and Aluminum Weaken
North American scrap buying benchmarks moved broadly lower on September 28, led by a 13¢/lb decline in major clean copper grades. Aluminum, brass and selected stainless grades also weakened, while ferrous scrap split between lower HMS and shredded material and unchanged prime grades.
By Carolina Curiel
Published September 29, 2026
Market data: September 28, 2026
Key Points
- Major clean copper grades fell 13¢/lb, the largest nonferrous move of the session.
- Major brass grades declined 3¢/lb, while selected aluminum grades fell 1¢/lb.
- #1 HMS dropped $20/MT and Shredded Auto Scrap fell $15/MT, while #1 Bundle and #1 Busheling were unchanged.
- 301 SS and 304 SS Solid declined 1¢/lb, while zinc die-cast benchmarks held steady.
MONTREAL (Scrap Monster): North American scrap metal buying benchmarks moved broadly lower on Monday, September 28, 2026, with copper leading the decline.
Major clean copper grades fell 13¢/lb, while brass moved 3¢/lb lower and a group of widely traded aluminum grades declined 1¢/lb. The weakness also extended into selected stainless steel and ferrous scrap benchmarks.
Steel was more divided. #1 HMS fell $20/MT and Shredded Auto Scrap declined $15/MT, while the prime grades #1 Bundle and #1 Busheling held unchanged.
| Metal | September 28 Move | Market Read |
|---|---|---|
| Copper | ▼ Up to 13¢/lb | Largest nonferrous move |
| Aluminum | ▼ 1¢/lb | Broad decline across selected grades |
| Brass/Bronze | ▼ 3¢/lb | Major brass grades moved together |
| Steel | ▼ Up to $20/MT | HMS and shredded lower; prime grades flat |
| Stainless Steel | ▼ 1¢/lb | 301 SS and 304 SS Solid eased |
| Zinc | → Flat | Die-cast benchmarks unchanged |
SCRAPMONSTER EDGE
Copper was the clear pressure point Monday. The 13¢/lb decline in major clean grades was more than four times the 3¢/lb adjustment in brass and far larger than the 1¢/lb moves across selected aluminum and stainless grades. Ferrous told a different story: obsolete and shredded benchmarks weakened while the two tracked prime grades did not move.
Copper Leads the Decline
Copper recorded the largest nonferrous adjustment of the September 28 session.
#1 Copper Bare Bright, #1 Copper Wire and Tubing and #2 Copper Wire and Tubing each fell 13¢/lb.
#1 Insulated Copper Wire with 85% Recovery posted a smaller decline of 3¢/lb.
The pullback followed a quiet Friday session in which the major North American copper benchmarks were unchanged. Copper had gained 2¢/lb the previous Thursday after falling 11¢/lb one session earlier, leaving the market with a volatile sequence of adjustments heading into the new week.
Copper Scrap and LME Move in the Same Direction
The decline in physical copper scrap coincided with a weaker international copper market.
The London Metal Exchange copper benchmark finished September 28 down approximately 1.3%. Copper also traded at its lowest level in more than a week during Monday's session as the broader industrial-metals complex weakened.
Scrap/benchmark read: The direction was aligned on Monday. North American clean copper scrap moved lower at the same time as the LME benchmark, reversing the divergence seen in Friday's session when scrap benchmarks held steady.
The comparison is directional rather than one-for-one. Exchange-traded copper and physical scrap benchmarks represent different markets and do not necessarily move by the same magnitude or on the same timetable.
Aluminum Weakness Spreads Across Key Grades
Aluminum posted smaller moves than copper, but the decline was spread across several commonly tracked grades.
6063 Extrusions, E.C. Aluminum Wire, 5052 Scrap, 6061 Extrusions and 6063 Extrusions/Fe each declined 1¢/lb.
Old Cast, UBC and Zorba 90% NF also moved 1¢/lb lower.
The common direction across extrusion, wire, cast, can and zorba grades made the September 28 move broader than a single-grade adjustment, although the magnitude remained modest at 1¢/lb.
Brass Follows Copper Lower
Brass and bronze benchmarks also weakened, although the adjustment was considerably smaller than the move in clean copper.
70/30 Brass Scrap, 80/20 Brass Scrap and 85/15 Brass Scrap each fell 3¢/lb.
Red Brass and Yellow Brass also declined 3¢/lb.
COPPER-BRASS SPREAD
The size of the adjustment was notably different. Major clean copper benchmarks dropped 13¢/lb while the principal brass grades declined 3¢/lb, a 10¢/lb difference in the day-over-day move.
Ferrous Market Splits Between Obsolete and Prime Grades
Steel scrap produced one of the more differentiated readings of the session.
#1 HMS recorded the largest ferrous decline, falling $20/MT.
Shredded Auto Scrap moved $15/MT lower.
Prime grades did not follow. #1 Bundle and #1 Busheling were both unchanged.
That split matters because it prevents Monday's steel move from being characterized as a uniform ferrous decline. The weakness was concentrated in HMS and shredded material among the benchmark grades tracked here.
Selected Stainless Grades Edge Lower
Stainless steel saw a modest adjustment.
301 SS and 304 SS Solid each declined 1¢/lb from the previous session.
The stainless move was considerably smaller than copper's decline but added another major scrap category to Monday's broadly softer market.
Zinc Holds Steady
Zinc was one of the few areas in the benchmark set to avoid the broader decline.
New Zinc Die Cast and Old Zinc Die Cast were both unchanged from the previous session.
Market Read
September 28 marked a clear change from Friday's flat North American session. The weakness was broad enough to reach copper, aluminum, brass, ferrous and stainless steel, but the size and distribution of those moves varied substantially.
Copper supplied the strongest directional signal, with clean grades falling 13¢/lb. Brass followed lower by 3¢/lb, while the selected aluminum and stainless grades recorded comparatively modest 1¢/lb declines.
Steel requires a more selective reading. The decline in #1 HMS and Shredded Auto Scrap was not matched by #1 Bundle or #1 Busheling, leaving obsolete and shredded material weaker while the tracked prime grades remained steady.
For scrap sellers and buyers, the session is a reminder that a broad market direction does not translate into the same adjustment across every grade. Copper moved aggressively, several nonferrous categories eased more moderately, and some benchmark grades did not move at all.
Benchmark buying-price move • Exact live price levels are available to ScrapMonster Premium members. Local quotes vary by grade and location.
