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This is just a curiosity question for I know someone on the forum will know. Of the larger scrap yards buying scrap steel and shred about what percentage is brought into the yard by private scrappers driving pickup trucks, towing scrap cars and so on versus their industrial customers they pickup using dump trailers or large hauling bins? I'm just sort off looking for a rough figure that's all.
That is a great question, but I am sure it depends on the location of the yard. This is only one persons perspective and only a guess based on observation because I do not have access to the numbers.
If you are talking about the big boys on the coast that ship directly overseas, scrapers are a sliver of their business plan. The majority of it is coming from smaller yards with contracts. Large yards in metropolitan areas have a very large percentage of industrial customers. Smaller yards serve more individuals, at least in Omaha. My usual yard in a community of 20,000 is 50/50. 99% of metal coming into a rural yard in a community of 2,000 nearby is from individuals. Maybe someone has done the research and can provide a more detailed and accurate answer.
Steel is the number 1 recycled metal. I don't know where I read it, but It's somewhere around 20% for us peddlers. Commercial, industrial, manufacturing and professional demo/salvage companies accounting for about 80%. This 80/20 ratio is fluctuating "ballpark" number, that fluctuates due to many factors, economy is the engine that drives all numbers! Americans as a group of people and on a global scale have consistently improved on the efficient aspects of all levels of recycling. This to the point that the scrap metal business, combining all types of metals was the number 2 export in the last couple of years. Both legislation and out of economic need, individual recycling is on the rise!