Current Metal Prices per Pound
Market estimate as of August 26, 2026 — refreshed daily
Daily reference prices for the metals fabrication shops buy most, expressed as finished-stock dollars per pound. These are the same defaults the FabCostEstimator quoting tool loads each morning — derived from LME and CME commodity quotes, adjusted to typical merchant pricing for finished stock. Below them, the raw exchange quotes: CME hot-rolled coil steel futures plus the LME base metals — aluminum, copper, nickel, zinc, and lead.
Finished-stock estimates
| Material | $/lb | $/short ton |
|---|---|---|
| A36 / mild steel plate, bar, structural | $0.92 | $1,840 |
| 6061 aluminum structural extrusion, bar, plate | $4.62 | $9,240 |
| 5052 aluminum sheet | $3.96 | $7,920 |
| 304 stainless sheet, bar, tube | $3.43 | $6,860 |
Exchange prices — CME steel futures & LME base metals
The raw commodity quotes behind the estimates above, with no form multiplier: hot-rolled coil steel from CME US Midwest futures (the industry's benchmark mill price, commonly quoted per short ton), the rest from the London Metal Exchange. These are prices for exchange-grade metal, not finished stock and not scrap — but they're the benchmark everything else moves with. Nickel is the one to watch if you buy stainless: it drives the alloy surcharge on 304 and 316. Densities for all of these are in the metal density chart.
| Metal | $/lb | $/metric ton |
|---|---|---|
| Steel (HRC) CME US Midwest hot-rolled coil futures | $0.60 | $1,323 |
| Aluminum primary, min 99.7% | $1.47 | $3,241 |
| Copper Grade A cathode | $6.80 | $14,991 |
| Nickel drives stainless surcharges | $7.69 | $16,954 |
| Zinc special high grade | $1.78 | $3,924 |
| Lead refined, 99.97% | $0.86 | $1,896 |
Where these numbers come from
No exchange publishes finished A36 or 6061 prices, so each finished-stock figure is a commodity index with a form multiplier: steel from CME US Midwest hot-rolled coil futures with a mill-to-merchant spread; 6061 and 5052 aluminum from the LME aluminum quote with grade-specific multipliers; 304 stainless from a base plus the LME nickel surcharge (304 is ≈8% nickel). They track the market's direction well — but they're estimates of typical stock pricing, not a quote. Always bid from your supplier's invoice.
To turn a price into a job cost: weigh the cut list (the free estimator computes weights from real profile geometry), multiply by $/lb, then add waste, labor, and markup.