Stainless Steel Scrap

304, 316, 310 and 430 solids and turnings, XRF-verified

Stainless scrap is bought on chemistry, not on appearance, and the money sits in the nickel. Grade 304 — the 18/8 workhorse at roughly 18% chromium and 8–10.5% nickel — is the reference against which most stainless scrap trades. 316 and 316L add 2–3% molybdenum for chloride resistance and price well above 304 as a result. At the other end, 430 is a ferritic chrome-only grade with no nickel at all, and 409 is the exhaust-system equivalent; both are magnetic and both are worth a fraction of 304. That single fact causes most stainless disputes in the trade, because a magnet separates ferritic from austenitic material in seconds and any yard can do it — so a cargo sold as 304 that pulls to a magnet has either been mixed or was never 304. We verify with a handheld XRF analyser at the point of purchase and, on larger lots, take a melt sample: XRF gives nickel, chromium and molybdenum percentages on the spot, and the assay is what the price is calculated from.

Form changes the value as much as grade does. Solids and clean sheet remelt cleanly and carry the least discount. Turnings and swarf are a different proposition — they carry cutting oil and coolant, oxidise readily, lose more metal in the melt and often need briquetting before a furnace will take them, so they discount hard and should be contracted with an explicit oil-and-moisture ceiling rather than a handshake. Attachments matter too: carbon-steel bolts, brackets, plastic and rubber all count against the payable weight. Pricing works from the alloy content — nickel units valued against the LME nickel cash settlement plus a chrome and moly contribution, expressed as a percentage of the contained value, which typically lands 304 solids well below the prime metal price and moves with nickel week to week. Supply is sourced from fabricators, food and pharmaceutical plant decommissioning, dairy and brewery equipment, exhaust and catalytic processing and general demolition. We arrange SGS or Intertek supervision, XRF verification at loading, radiation certification, and container stuffing at 22–25 MT per 20ft box on FOB, CFR and CIF terms.