Alter Trading Corporation does not publish per-pound scrap prices. There is no public rate sheet on its site and no Alter listing in the price indexes — ScrapMonster’s entry for the company states flatly that the yard has not published any price information. So walk in armed with regional numbers instead: Missouri yards averaged $5.35 per pound for bare bright copper and $175 per ton for shred and tin as of 17 August 2026.
| Grade / Item | Low | High | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shred / light iron (yard payout) | $0.04 | $0.10 | USD/lb |
| Shred steel per ton (mill) | $150 | $200 | USD/ton |
| #1 prepared steel (HMS) | $180 | $250 | USD/ton |
| Steel turnings | $90 | $112 | USD/ton |
| Country | Typical Range | Per Tonne | Cur. |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $0.04 – $0.10 /lb | $150 – $200 mill | USD |
| Canada | C$0.05 – C$0.14 /lb | C$190 – C$270 | CAD |
| United Kingdom | £0.06 – £0.16 /kg | £120 – £160 | GBP |
| Germany / EU | €0.07 – €0.19 /kg | €140 – €185 | EUR |
| Australia | A$0.10 – A$0.27 /kg | A$230 – A$310 | AUD |
| India | ₹24 – ₹33 /kg | ₹24,000 – ₹33,000 | INR |
What Alter Trading is
Alter is one of the largest scrap processors in the United States and one of the oldest. It has been trading metal since 1898, when brothers Harry and Morris Alter started Davenport Iron & Metal Co. in Iowa. It is still privately held and family run — the Goldstein family owns it, with fifth-generation family member Michael Goldstein as senior vice president of operations. Jay Robinovitz, who joined in 2009, has been chief executive since 2018.
Headquarters is 700 Office Parkway, St. Louis, Missouri 63141, phone 314-872-2400. That is a corporate office, not a scale house. You do not sell scrap there.
Scale and footprint
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1898, as Davenport Iron & Metal Co. |
| Ownership | Private, Goldstein family |
| Headquarters | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Facilities | Roughly 70 |
| Automobile shredders | 16 |
| Nonferrous recovery systems | 7 |
| Barge facilities | 3 |
| Ferrous processed per year | About 4 million tons |
| Nonferrous handled per year | About 600 million pounds |
| Employees | About 1,400 |
These figures come from a Recycling Today company profile, so treat them as approximate — Alter has kept buying yards since, and the count moves. It also runs a Hong Kong trading office and sells into Asia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Mexico and the Middle East. It has acquired 55 locations since 1998.
Which states Alter operates in
Alter describes itself as running trading offices and processing plants across the central United States. Reported operations and acquisitions place it in:
- Missouri — headquarters and St. Louis area operations
- Iowa — the original Davenport home market
- Illinois — including Behr Iron & Metal, bought 2016
- Wisconsin — including Miller Compressing, 2012, and Marinette
- Nebraska — including CMI Group, 2013
- Minnesota
- Arkansas — via Tenenbaum Recycling Group, 2018
- Michigan — via Schneider’s Iron & Metal, 2019, adding a Kingsford shredder and yards at Escanaba and Negaunee
The footprint is Midwest and mid-South, anchored on the Mississippi and Missouri river systems — which is why the barge facilities matter. Use the Alter location finder; not every yard has a retail-facing scale.
What Alter buys
- Ferrous — sheet iron, tin, car bodies, machinery scrap, plate and structural, demolition material, shredded scrap
- Nonferrous — aluminum, copper, brass, insulated wire, nickel, zinc, mixed metals
- Other — lead-acid batteries, catalytic converters
Listed service options include drop-off, pick-up, curbside and mailback, though offerings vary by yard. Roll-off and industrial account service is a large part of the business.
How Alter pricing works
- Prices are quoted per yard, per day. A big processor moves with the monthly mill settlement and the daily nonferrous exchange. A published number goes stale in 24 hours.
- Volume changes the number. Industrial accounts are quoted on contract; walk-up sellers get that yard’s posted retail rate that day.
- Grade is decided at the scale, not by you. The buyer classifies your material, and anything mixed grades down to its lowest component.
- The company is industrial-first. With 16 shredders and 4 million tons a year, the core customer is a manufacturer or demolition contractor, not a homeowner with a truck bed.
Nobody outside Alter can tell you what a given yard pays today. Anyone publishing an Alter price list is guessing.
Benchmark rates to negotiate against
Since Alter posts nothing public, bring published regional numbers. These are what other yards in Alter core states reported.
| Grade | Missouri yards (17 Aug 2026) | Illinois yards (22 May 2026) | US average (20–21 Aug 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bare bright copper | $5.35/lb | $5.35/lb | $5.25/lb ($5.10–$5.40) |
| #1 copper | $4.11/lb | $5.20/lb (#1 wire) | $5.18/lb ($5.00–$5.35) |
| #2 copper | Not listed | Not listed | $5.08/lb ($4.90–$5.25) |
| Yellow brass | $3.45/lb | Not listed | $2.14/lb (iScrap App) |
| Red brass | $4.50/lb | $3.70/lb | Not listed |
| Aluminum cans | $0.58/lb | $0.80/lb | $0.73/lb ($0.50–$0.95) |
| Cast aluminum | Not listed | $0.65/lb | $0.74/lb ($0.65–$0.83) |
| Aluminum-copper radiators | $2.85/lb (with iron) | $2.63/lb | Not listed |
| Stainless 304 | $0.37/lb | $0.43/lb | Not listed |
| Soft lead | $0.52/lb | $0.50/lb | Not listed |
Note the gap between Missouri #1 copper at $4.11 and the national average of $5.18. Sources genuinely disagree, and the Missouri and Illinois data were collected on different dates. Treat the spread as your negotiating room, not any single figure as the price.
Ferrous benchmarks
| Grade | Missouri (17 Aug 2026) | Illinois (22 May 2026) | US average (20–21 Aug 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shred / tin | $175/ton | $212.50/ton (sheet iron) | $177.05/ton (iScrap App) |
| Short steel | $0.10/lb | Not listed | Not listed |
| Cast iron | $0.09/lb | $240/ton | $202/ton ($179–$224) |
| Plate and structural | Not listed | $280/ton | $280/ton ($246–$314) |
| Steel turnings | $0.05/lb | Not listed | $101/ton ($90–$112) |
| #1 prepared steel (HMS) | Not listed | Not listed | $224/ton ($202–$246) |
Direction as of August 2026: BLDuke reported on 7 August that the Chicago settlement took shredded and heavy melt down $10 per gross ton while busheling and plate held flat. IndexBox reported on 10 August that bare bright and #1 copper each fell $0.13 per pound and red brass slipped $0.03. Obsolete ferrous is soft; prime grades are holding.
How to get a quote
- Call the yard, not corporate. Find your nearest location on the Alter site and phone that scale house.
- Describe grade, not objects. Say 1,800 pounds of clean aluminum extrusion, not a bunch of window frames.
- Ask three questions — what grade do you call this, what does it pay today, and is there a minimum weight or volume break.
- Ask about the shredder discount. Loads with attached plastic, glass or rubber get cut. Learn the deduction before you haul.
- Get the quote the day you deliver. Nonferrous moves daily.
ID and payment requirements
Alter does not publish a customer policy, but state law sets the floor and every Missouri yard follows it. Under RSMo 407.300, for copper, brass, bronze, aluminum wire and pipe, farm equipment containing copper or aluminum, detached catalytic converters and vehicle batteries, the dealer must take a copy of your state or federal photo ID and record your address, gender, birth date, license plate number, the date, time and place of sale, and a full description of the material with weight and price. Records are kept 36 months and are open to law enforcement.
On payment, RSMo 407.303 requires any payout of $500 or more to be made by prenumbered check, or through an automated cash or electronic system that photographs or videotapes the recipient. Below that threshold, cash is generally still possible. Catalytic converters carry extra rules: the sale must happen at the fixed business location, and the converter cannot be altered or destroyed for five business days.
Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Nebraska have comparable statutes. Expect a photo ID and a plate check anywhere in Alter territory, bring a title or bill of sale for a vehicle, and expect a hold on high-theft items.
How Alter compares to independent yards
No honest comparison table is possible, because Alter publishes nothing to compare. What can be said is structural:
- On large ferrous volume, big processors are usually competitive. Alter owns 16 shredders, its own nonferrous recovery lines and barge access, so it captures margin an independent pays away to a middleman.
- On small retail loads, independents often win. A one-yard operator chasing repeat business can post a sharp number on copper and brass. A corporate scale house works from a schedule with less room to move.
- On grading, expect discipline. A large processor grades to spec, so the downgrade rule costs you real money if you bring material mixed.
- On reliability, size helps. Consistent hours, working scales, certified weights, same-day payment.
Price both. Call the Alter yard and two independents the same morning, quote identical grades and weights, take the best number. Sell nothing on reputation alone.
No price here is an Alter Trading figure, because Alter does not release one. Every rate shown is a published benchmark from another yard or index, given so you have something concrete to negotiate against. Confirm the number at the scale before you unload.