Scrap metal prices plummet; police say metal thefts down

By Angelia Joiner
Special to the Reporter-News

Recycling centers across the country are in a state of turmoil as the economy suffers.

That’s the word from Wayne Lanham of Texas Metals and Recycling in Abilene.

“We’re seeing unprecedented declines in scrap metal prices and wondering what we’re going to do,” Lanham said. “I’ve never seen it like this.”

Prices for copper, aluminum and steel have plummeted after reaching near record highs this summer. On the upside, police say metals thefts are down as a result.

Lanham said to handle the massive influx of materials being brought in over the spring and summer months, he made capital expenditures in equipment to handle the massive volume. Now that equipment is mostly idle.

“There is very little movement of scrap steel, if any,” Lanham said. “Orders have decreased, and responding to demand, there is no need for scrap from us.”

Lanham said one of the big players in the region is Gerdau Ameristeel, and the company will be closed a major portion of January for maintenance.

“That, in conjunction with the lack of demand and extremely high existing scrap inventories, has led them to not need any material from scrap dealers since October,” Lanham said.

He said prices have regressed to what they were in 1999.

The price he pays to customers for scrap iron is $20 per ton or 1 cent per pound. That’s down from paying up to $200 a ton or 10 cents a pound for the same material earlier this year, he said.

“We’re seeing some pickup now after people have realized the price is what it is and it’s probably not going to change next week,” Lanham said.

When prices first dropped in September, he said, he had customers who would drive off with a loaded trailer after deciding to keep the materials.

He said the same holds true for his paper recycling company, RWL Recycling.

“After the first of the year, we’re confident we’ll see improvement,” Lanham said. “The bottom line is there will be a demand, but the great unknown is how much demand and at what price.”

Despite all the gloom and doom, recyclers are still accepting materials but at reduced prices, he said.

Meanwhile, Detective Jeff Cowan of the Abilene Police Department said now that prices for metals such as copper are down, so is the crime spree that went along with it.

He estimated crimes involving this kind of theft are down by 25 to 30 percent.

“When copper was $3.25 a pound, you had people stealing it that normally wouldn’t,” Cowan said. “When you can get 100 pounds in 10 or 20 minutes, that’s pretty good money in a short amount of time. Now they won’t take the risk for a small amount of money.”

NEWS SOURCE