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North American Scrap Prices Flat for Second Straight Session
North American scrap buying benchmarks recorded no daily movement on October 8, marking a second consecutive fully unchanged session after copper and aluminum posted modest gains earlier in the week.
By Carolina Curiel
Published October 9, 2026
Market data: October 8, 2026
Market at a Glance
- Copper: → Flat across all tracked grades.
- Aluminum: → Flat across the full reported list.
- Steel: → Flat across #1 HMS, Busheling, Bundle, Shredded and other benchmarks.
- Stainless Steel: → Flat across all listed grades.
- Brass/Bronze: → Flat across all tracked categories.
MONTREAL (Scrap Monster): North American scrap metal prices held firm on the ScrapMonster Price Index on Thursday, October 8, 2026, with copper, aluminum, steel, stainless steel and brass/bronze buying benchmarks all unchanged from the previous session.
The flat session followed another market-wide pause on October 7. Copper and aluminum had last recorded upward movement on October 6, when several copper grades gained 2¢/lb and multiple aluminum grades rose 1¢/lb.
Benchmark buying-price move: ScrapMonster reports benchmark market movements. Local yard quotations can vary by grade, volume and location.
ScrapMonster Intelligence: A Market Pause, Not a Reversal
The key signal on October 8 was the breadth of the pause. Every major category tracked in this report was unchanged, making this the second consecutive session without a benchmark adjustment.
Copper and aluminum are consolidating after the October 6 move. Both metals posted modest gains earlier in the week, but those increases were neither extended nor reversed during the following two sessions.
Ferrous and alloy markets remain even quieter. Steel, stainless steel and brass/bronze were already unchanged on October 6 and continued to show no daily movement through October 8.
For buyers and sellers: a flat benchmark does not necessarily mean every local yard is paying the same price. Grade, location, volume, freight and individual buyer demand can still create differences in actual quotations.
Copper Scrap Prices
Copper scrap prices remained unchanged after the market paused in the previous session.
Major clean copper grades all held their previous levels:
- #1 Copper Bare Bright — → Flat
- #1 Copper Wire & Tubing — → Flat
- #2 Copper Wire & Tubing — → Flat
- #3 Copper–Light Copper — → Flat
Alternator Scrap, #1 Insulated Copper Wire (85% Recovery) and #2 Insulated Copper Wire (50% Recovery) also recorded no change.
Copper Radiator Scrap, Copper Transformer Scrap and Cu Yokes remained steady, along with Cu/Al Radiator Ends, Cu/Al Radiators and Cu/Al Radiators/Fe.
Harness Wire (35% Recovery), Heater Cores, Romex Wire, Scrap Electric Motors, Starters, Sealed Units and Xmas Lights likewise held their previous-session levels.
Aluminum Scrap Prices
Aluminum scrap prices were unchanged across every category tracked in the report.
The following grades all remained → Flat:
- 1100 Scrap
- 3003 Scrap
- 356 Aluminum Wheels
- 6063 Extrusions/Fe
- 6063 Extrusions
- 5052 Scrap
- 6061 Extrusions
Al/Cu Radiators, Al/Cu Radiators/Fe, Aluminum Radiators, Aluminum Radiators/Fe, Aluminum Transformers and Breakage (50% Recovery) also showed no movement.
E.C. Aluminum Wire, Chrome Wheels, Litho Sheets, MLC Clips, Mixed Aluminum Turnings, Old Cast, UBC, Old Sheet, Painted Siding and Zorba 90% NF all remained at their previous price levels.
Steel Scrap Prices
Steel scrap remained completely unchanged across the reported benchmark grades.
| Steel Grade | Daily Movement |
|---|---|
| #1 Bundle | → Flat |
| #1 Busheling | → Flat |
| #1 HMS | → Flat |
| HMS 80/20 | → Flat |
| Shredded Auto Scrap | → Flat |
| Structural Steel | → Flat |
| Sheet Metal | → Flat |
Stainless Steel Scrap Prices
Stainless steel scrap benchmarks also recorded no daily changes.
| Stainless Steel Grade | Daily Movement |
|---|---|
| 201 SS | → Flat |
| 301 SS | → Flat |
| 304 SS Solid | → Flat |
| 304 SS Turning | → Flat |
| 309 SS | → Flat |
| 310 SS | → Flat |
| 330 SS | → Flat |
| 316 SS Solid | → Flat |
Brass/Bronze Scrap Prices
Brass and bronze scrap prices remained unchanged across the entire tracked list.
70/30 Brass Scrap, 80/20 Brass Scrap, 85/15 Brass Scrap and Brass Radiator Scrap all held their previous-day levels.
Brass Radiator/Fe and Brass Radiator Ends also remained flat.
Red Brass, Red Borings and Yellow Brass recorded no daily movement.
What to Watch Next
The immediate question is whether the two-session pause continues or whether copper and aluminum resume the movement seen earlier in the week.
For steel, stainless steel and brass/bronze, continued unchanged benchmarks would extend an already quiet short-term pattern. A new move in any of those categories would therefore stand out more clearly after several stable sessions.
