The Future of Scrap Metal

future of metal industry
Will there be scrap metal jobs in the future? We live in a world where what is cool today could not be tomorrow. Although many things come and go throughout history, metal since its first practical use has been a necessary part of our civilizations continued growth.

The future of scrap metal is very bright for those involved in the metal industry. You can see it happening as the world advances its use of electronic products. Scrap metal will play a major role in shaping the future as it always has.




When you own your own business one of the things that you have to pay attention to are trends. Not trends on what color of car sells best unless that is your job. In the metal industry, you learn to look past the price of scrap metal today in order to foresee where the industry will be in the future.

$2000.00 a Pound Scrap Copper

Many will scoff at that price and say that it won’t happen or that $2000.00 a pound for scrap copper might occur in 100 years. These are the same people that told you that you could not make any money scrapping metal.

Just so that we are clear, who knows what tomorrow holds but this price is not likely to happen by tomorrow morning.

What I am suggesting that you do is at the end of the night while you are separating your scrap for the day that you start a new collection barrel for copper. It’s up to you on how much of your scrap copper that you put into the barrel per day but the goal is to save 500 to 1000 pounds of bare copper. If you are new to scrap, bare copper means there should not be any coatings on the copper such as plastic.

Why 500 to 1000 pounds of copper? One thing that is certain, in our immediate future whether we like it or not is electric cars, electric trucks, electric semi-trucks and other modes of transportation like electric motorcycles and scooters.

Change happens and it’s okay if you don’t like change but right now, you should be focused on your financial well-being. Everyone has a story about a missed opportunity; will this end up being one of yours?

The Great Copper Demand

Automotive companies are not going to stop making electric vehicles even if the gas prices go down below $2.00 a gallon. Knowing this, you can now clearly see why the price for copper per pound is going to rise so dramatically. Demand will outpace supply leading to higher buying prices.

All of the wiring throughout each electric vehicle as well as the tons of copper wire needed to create the motors for these vehicles will always keep the demand for scrap copper very high.

When the demand for copper is high, the price for it rises which means, you make more money when you sell your copper.

The demand for copper will continue to rise also due to products like electric lawn equipment that has recently been more prominent in home improvement stores than gas powered versions.

The price for scrap copper per pound is going to start rising quickly through phases and just a little math will show you how much money your barrel will bring you.

250 Pounds of Copper (x) $2000.00 = $500k
500 Pounds of Copper (x) $2000.00 = $1M
1000 Pounds of Copper (x) $2000.00 = $2M

As I said, some folks might consider that kind of a price for scrap copper per pound down right silly. However most automotive manufacturers have already committed to no longer producing gasoline powered vehicles.

Stay safe out there, always follow local laws and don’t forget to share this article with a friend or fellow new scrapper.