poor metal prices why? - Page 2

China also, for the last 10 years or so, have been busy building the worlds largest and most modern Navy on the sly from scratch. a navy is almost 100% metal.

olddude - You are absolutely correct about China, they have been building a modern navy and a large one. By numbers yes a larger navy with 673 naval vessels to our 473. This is all vessels including auxiliary ships (tug boats, barges etc.), having more vessels doesn't make you a "Naval Power". If the most vessels was how navies are measured, then North Korea would be the greatest naval power with 1,061 vessels. North Korea is not a "Naval Power" or are they a modern navy. Most of their naval vessels are landing craft intended to move troops to their neighbor South Korea.

China is for sure a emerging military supper power, they are #3 on that list behind #1 U.S. and #2 Russia. India is #4, with U.K. #5, France #6, South Korea #7, Germany #8, Japan #9 and Turkey #10. No doubt there has been a major shift of China's ability to project their military might. As a major military and naval power, they however are not even close to us as far a Naval power, nor or the Russians. The US Navy has 20 aircraft carriers, including our helicopter attack carriers. China only has one carrier period and as far as I know it has never left the confines of the China Sea. So far they are a Naval power that only threatens their Asian neighbors, that doesn't mean they don't have ambitious plans for their navy.

A nations military might is measured in many ways, one being a nations debt and that is what our country really needs to focus on. We need to quit fighting other nations battles for them, doing so has squandered our resources and mostly responsible for our huge debt! Most important our best resource, the lives that have been lost or permanently harmed (I'm only counting the American lives too!).

Yes you are right China is building a big navy, We can do better if we only will get back to the basics that made this country the great nation it is, that starts with taking care of us first!

Originally Posted by mike1

my scrap prices as of 6/29/2015 as follows

non magnetic stainless 0.15/lb 17lb 2.55

aluminum cans 0.23/lb 35lb 8.05

I told the guy it was magnetic stainless but he put it as mis. steel 120.00/ton 18lb 1.08

I had cast aluminum to but he lumped it together}aluminum sheet 0.23/lb 47lb 10.81

#2 copper wire 1.75/lb 8lb 14.00

#2 insulated copper wire 0.40/lb 2lb 0.80

yellow brass 1.10/lb 7lb 7.70

unclean yellow brass 0.50/lb 1lb 0.50

total 45.49

why are they so low? and also what is tare wt. do the prices go back up speraticly? say I wait 2 months would they go up or fall farther down?

First lets keep things in perspective , Give or take these are the prices . I'm not so optimistic about the return of what once was . Be realistic. By all logic it will come back but not on our wish Scrappers ride the wave China and Greece have a role But China is building a huge military so they still need metal and Guess What ? There getting it for Less !! We know there
the customer that caused a boom .
Just keep in mind it's possible the buyers of metal have us just where they want us . We still are finding - we still go to the yard -
We take our lower pay 1/2 on some metals . Don't ask why so low ? Whats Low ?
1999 I sold a truck to a yard for $30 a ton granted fuel was in the $1 and change range - and lots of things cost less .

So take your money & find more , or discontinue -This is what it is .

You ask
say I wait 2 months would they go up or fall farther down?

It matters not -- You find You sell - it's kinda like income averaging . Knowing how to find - having inventory - helps ride the storm . finding and hording as long as you have other sources of income could be a nice investment (a messy looking investment )

The extruded aluminum alloy is the stiff frame material that aluminum storm doors and windows are made from. Most of it won't bend but Some will depending on what is mixed in with the aluminum.

There is a softer extruded such as the trim used in older bathrooms that had 4'x8' sheets of a water resistant material on the walls. This extruded is softer and will bend with force. But sometimes the trim is pot metal and will break easily when bent. They look much the same. Also old store fixtures use it as decorative trim.

Many times the ridged will be coated or have color all the way through and the soft extruded is most times a silver/grey color all the way through. I have read that some yards want the soft and ridged sorted and some do not.

It seems that most extruded aluminum is about 20 cents or so a pound more then sheet and cast is. But lately even the prices for the extruded is closer to the other aluminum prices.

Cast aluminum will crack and break up much like cast iron will.