Copper Hit a Record: Wiring, Starters and Radiators to Pull

Short answer: Copper set a new record in September 2026. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange touched $14,533 a tonne on September 7, above the high it set in January. On October 2 the LME official cash price was $14,355 a tonne, about $6.51 a pound. A scrap yard pays much less than that. On October 5, Rockaway Recycling in New Jersey posted $1.90 a pound for car harness wire, $0.60 for alternators and starters and $3.10 for clean brass radiators.

Last checked: October 5, 2026. Exchange prices are the LME official prices published by Westmetall and a September 8 report in The Deep Dive. Yard prices are from Rockaway Recycling's posted list. Tariff details are from the White House and the American Supply Association. Theft figures are from NPR. Sale rules are from the California Legislature and the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes.

What happened to copper prices in 2026?

Date	What happened	Source
September 7, 2026	Three-month LME copper touched $14,533 a tonne, above January's record	The Deep Dive, September 8
September 22, 2026	LME official cash price of $14,797 a tonne	LME data via Westmetall
October 2, 2026	LME official cash price of $14,355 a tonne, about $6.51 a pound	LME data via Westmetall
January 1, 2027	Earliest date for a possible 15% duty on refined copper imports. Not decided as of late August	White House proclamation; American Supply Association

Tariffs are part of the story. A July 2025 proclamation put a 50% tariff on semi-finished copper products and left a 15% duty on refined copper from January 2027, rising to 30% in 2028, for a later decision. The American Supply Association reported on August 27 that no decision had been made. Daily prices are on Westmetall's copper table, so treat any figure here as a snapshot.

What does a scrap yard pay for copper from a car?

Far less than the exchange price, and less again for copper that still has plastic, steel or brass attached. Rockaway Recycling updates its posted price list every morning. These are its prices at 8 AM on October 5, 2026, for the grades that come off a car.

Car part	Yard's grade	Posted price
Wiring harness, left whole	Car harness wires (48 to 52% copper)	$1.90 a pound
Alternator or starter	Alternators and starters	$0.60 a pound
Old copper and brass radiator, steel sides off, drained	Clean brass radiators	$3.10 a pound
Stripped copper wire, clean	#1 bare bright wire	$5.60 a pound
Stripped wire with solder or tin	#2 copper	$5.15 a pound
The rest of the car	Steel	$110 a gross ton, about 5 cents a pound

Bare bright wire at $5.60 is about 86% of the October 2 exchange price, and every step down in purity costs more. One yard is not a national price, so call two near you. Rockaway is in our directory as Rockaway Recycling in Rockaway, NJ.

Which car parts hold the copper?

The wiring harness holds the most. It runs through the dash, the doors and the engine bay, and it comes out in pieces unless you have an afternoon.

Alternators and starters have copper windings inside a steel or aluminum case, which is why they pay so little a pound. A/C compressors have a copper clutch coil but are mostly aluminum and steel, and Rockaway posts no grade for them, so ask first.

Radiators and heater cores from older cars and trucks were often copper and brass. Most newer ones are aluminum with plastic tanks, which grade far lower. Look at the color of the core to tell them apart.

Is it worth stripping a wiring harness?

Usually not. Take a 10-pound harness. Sold whole at $1.90, it brings $19. Rockaway's grade name assumes about half of it is copper, so stripped you might get 5 pounds of wire. Car wire is thin and often tinned, so it may grade as #2 at $5.15 rather than bare bright. That is about $25.75, or less than $7 more for several hours of cutting connectors and peeling insulation.

Pulling the harness out before the car goes for scrap is different. Left in the car, it is paid at the steel price. Taken out, it brings $1.90 a pound. Do not burn the insulation off. The smoke is toxic.

If you are selling the whole car to a buyer who quoted it as complete, ask before you take anything. Our list of what to remove before you scrap a car covers what is safe to keep, and scrap car prices explains how a whole car is priced by weight.

A short tip on which car parts to take off before scrapping, from Rockaway Recycling's own channel, published May 2014. It is the company's video.

What do you need to sell copper legally?

Bring a photo ID and expect questions, because copper theft is common. NPR reported on June 3, 2026 that AT&T recorded more than 10,400 copper wire thefts in 2025, about 4,300 of them in California.

California's Business and Professions Code section 21608.5 requires the buyer of nonferrous metal such as copper to copy your photo ID, photograph you and the metal, and take your thumbprint. Payment cannot be collected until the third business day after the sale.

Minnesota goes further. Its scrap metal statute has required a state license to sell scrap copper since January 1, 2025, with narrow exceptions. It was amended in 2026, so check the current text. Other states have their own rules. Keep the car's title or registration with you, and keep the receipt.

Where should you sell it?

Ask a metal recycler that posts prices by grade and the junkyard that would take the car. Of the 3,606 published yards in our directory, 1,260 have scrap, metal or recycling in their name. Start with junkyards near me, and see the list of metals scrap yards take for what to sort. If the car is going too, compare an offer for the whole car first. A cash offer or the junk car value calculator gives you a number to beat, and catalytic converter values show the part that usually matters more than the copper.

Common questions

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