Needed: Prices on materials such as metals and plastics

Why don't you ask a salesman or use Google?

Michael Dahms

In the plastics industry (and I'm sure for the metals industry as well) there are weekly/monthly publications that list "average" market prices for these materials if bought in certain volumes (rail cars ~50,000kg are a common basis for plastics). A local university will probably have a subscription to one or more of these publications. This will get you started in the plastics area. These prices are for the US. Europe should be similar.

The low range for metals is as low as $1 per pound and as high as $1,000 per pound, with gold and precious metals and certain specialty items like plutonium considerably higher.

The more common the metal or alloy, the lower the price tends to be.

The above is a pretty good rule of thumb.

Jim

Costs are pretty relative depending on who is buying, what market they are in, what the quantities are, etc. I just was laid off from a job in the metals service center industry and a lot of my work was with general price comparisons and applications metallurgy using common stocked items.

Carbon steel in sheet or plate or structural form...the common stuff that a lot of people use is 17-30 cents a pound. Add 15-20% for alloy grades or coated sheet. Stainless Steel, 304, the most common non-automotiove stainless is about 85 cents to a dollar per pound (depends on Ni surcharge)....$1.25 at least for 316. Aluminum...eh, buck twenty, maybe less, maybe more. The alloy has some effect...7000 series is much higher, your 5000 and 6000 series maybe a bit lower...depends on the temper as well.

Cast iron is cheap, but the molds cost money...I'd bet the metal in a part is in the 20 cent/lb range or less. Titanium is, what, $6 lb for common usable stuff. Copper varies a lot, but 75 cents/lb for commodity grades is a decent number...maybe more.

Like I said, it depends on what you want to do with the materials.

Alex "who remembers this usenet group when people actually answered questions for others and didnt consistantly refer them to google or a textbook or to a salesman...sometimes threads even developed where knowledge was exchanged." Millar

A good source of basic pricing is the LME or London Metal Exchange: