Demand for aluminum tanked on east coast

In my last post I suggested that we hoard aluminum

That recommendation carries even more weight now that I've begun calling the scrap yards around me for current prices paid.

I talk about aluminium more here because of the ratio between how much work is involved and how much you get paid for scraping the metal. The ROI is or was better for aluminum than, say steel scrap metal... Copper on the other hand has a better ROI considering ONLY these factors:

How heavy the damn stuff is

Steel beams are hard on your back

Steel beams are hard on your pick up truck

How much can you get for the time spent/invested?

The problem with scraping copper is that every one is doing it, it's virtually impossible to ask someone: "can I have that copper please?" and have them say "Yeah, sure, go ahead".

Everyone and their brother collects copper, the local plumbing contractor knows what the stuff is worth, it's so high he can afford to have his employees go to the scrap yard ON THE CLOCK!.

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The news Media bombarded us with "the police can't get enough ammunition because the military used it all" ...

So there's not much ROI in going after copper, not if everyone is into the mix.
What WE want to do is... do something that pays us, but everyone else thinks: "it's not worth it"... we want our ROI to be high enough, but we want to keep our hand close to our chests (poker analogy)

So... go get aluminium but hoard it, keep it somewhere, stash it...

Why?

Because we had a mild summer in the US, it IS going to get cold.. and the frigid weather WILL send the price of aluminium UP

Computer Graveyard = precious metals

Sometimes scrap yards will pay a little for discarded computer cards. To my knowledge computer monitors don't have any recycling cash value. The motherboards and PC cards that fit in motherboards have trace amounts of precious metals in the and will yield a tiny bit of folding money.

Today's recommendation:

Hoard Aluminum

Sit on it until the price goes back up!

Having started into this hobby that pays cash with Scrap Steel, and having heavy steel wreck my back and ruin the front brakes of my pick up truck, I resolved to seek mostly scrap aluminum over heavy steel.

Right now I'd suggest we hoard our aluminum due to the fact that the scrap yards are only paying a little more than half what we got paid for scrap aluminum just a few months ago.

Gasoline prices haven't been this low for a year, and prices paid for aluminum are LOWER than Gas was a year ago.

For example, when gas prices were at todays level a year ago we got paid $.40 to $.50 a pound for cans. Yesterday from Reliable Recycling in Frederick Maryland I received the following prices:

Mixed Aluminum- $.20 pound
Aluminum siding- $.30 pound
Aluminum cans- $.35 pound

The pieces of aluminum window frames that I got from the window company dumpster I hit regularly see this post from earlier in this blog) were not paid at the rate extruded pays...

I hadn't gone to the trouble of cleaning the zinc clips that hold the glass to the window so they only paid me for mixed aluminum.