What is aluminum scrap and how does the industry classify it?
Aluminum scrap is any recoverable aluminum-bearing material recycled back into secondary metal — from a single crushed beverage can to a shredded automobile body to a fabricator's stack of extrusion offcuts. The global trade classifies aluminum scrap under HS code 7602 (aluminum waste and scrap), but industrial buyers rarely trade at that level of abstraction. Contracts are written against the ISRI (Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries) code list, published in the ISRI Scrap Specifications Circular, which assigns a memorable single-word alias to each grade — Talc for aluminum can stock, Taint for painted siding, Tabor for clean mixed low-copper, Tense for clean mixed old, Twitch for shredded sink-float, Zorba for mixed non-ferrous shred, Tread for tread plate, Troma for wheels, Tata/Tutu for extrusion, Talap for airplane castings. Every reputable European exporter, including Nautica, quotes and contracts against the ISRI grade — so does every reputable smelter, die-caster and refiner buying scrap. Learning the ISRI grade vocabulary is the single highest-leverage skill for a procurement buyer entering the non-ferrous scrap market.
The aluminum scrap value chain from post-consumer arising to secondary ingot
Aluminum scrap enters the recovery chain from four broad sources: (1) end-of-life products such as used beverage cans (UBC), automotive castings, aluminum wheels and building demolition scrap; (2) manufacturing offcuts from extruders, rolling mills, foundries and machine shops (industrial 'new' scrap that never left the factory); (3) shredder residue from automobile and white-goods shredders, sorted downstream by eddy-current and sink-float separation; (4) dross and skimmings from primary smelter and remelt operations. Once collected, material passes through segregation, magnet separation (to remove ferrous), eddy-current separation (to lift non-ferrous), density sorting (sink-float), colour and XRF sensor sorting for alloy families, and finally bailing, densification or shearing into shipping form. The output — clean grade-specific scrap in containerised or bulk form — feeds three broad downstream industries: secondary smelters producing sheet ingot, die-casters producing ADC12 and LM6 alloy ingots for automotive castings, and deox-ingot makers producing notched bars for ladle steel deoxidisation. Understanding where a given grade sits in this chain explains its price, its contract discount to LME and the specific end-users who compete for it.
The complete list of aluminum ISRI grades we export
Nautica's live inventory covers every widely traded aluminum ISRI grade. Clean mono-alloy grades: Tata/Tutu (6063 extrusion), Tesla (6061 aluminum), Talc (aluminum can stock), Troma (aluminum wheels), Talap (aluminum airplane castings). Mixed and shredded grades: Taint (painted siding), Tabor (mixed clean low-copper), Tense (clean mixed old), Tread (aluminum tread plate), Twitch (shredded sink-float aluminum), Zorba (mixed non-ferrous shredder residue, aluminum-dominant), Zurik (stainless-copper mixed post-Zorba). Post-consumer form-factor grades: densified UBC pucks, loose UBC bales, briquetted UBC. Ingot grades: A7 (99.7% purity primary), A8 (99.8%), remelt sow ingots, ADC12 secondary die-casting alloy. Every one of these grades ships against a written spec, tested by XRF composite sampling on inbound, verified again by third-party pre-shipment inspection at loading. Buyers select grades based on the downstream chemistry they need: a wheel caster needs Troma; a sheet-ingot smelter needs UBC or clean Tabor; a deox-ingot maker takes Twitch or Zorba because chemistry averages out in the notched-bar melt.
Chemistry and metallurgy — what actually matters in aluminum scrap contracts
The four chemistry variables that dominate aluminum scrap pricing are aluminum content (as a weight percentage of the total lot), copper content (the single most punishing contaminant for downstream alloy control), iron content (usually magnetic and separable but always a residual concern), and silicon content (welcome in casting alloys, unwelcome in wrought alloys). Contract specifications express these as caps: for Twitch 95% aluminum minimum, ≤ 2% zinc, ≤ 1% copper, ≤ 1% iron, ≤ 1% organics; for 6063 extrusion 98% aluminum minimum, ≤ 0.10% copper, ≤ 0.35% iron, silicon 0.20–0.60% (the alloy's natural range); for UBC 96% aluminum minimum, ≤ 0.20% copper, ≤ 0.50% iron, ≤ 0.50% free moisture; for Troma wheels 97% aluminum minimum, ≤ 0.10% copper, ≤ 0.30% magnesium (wheel-caster critical). Every Nautica container includes a composite XRF chemistry summary in the pre-shipment pack. Buyers with specific downstream limits — for example ADC12 die-casters holding tight copper to spec — write their own additional caps into the contract, which we honour by pre-inspection segregation.
LME anchoring and how aluminum scrap prices actually move
Every Nautica aluminum quotation is anchored to the LME Aluminium High Grade (P1020A) cash settlement on a stated date, adjusted by a grade-specific discount percentage or absolute differential. Typical 2026 trading bands: A7/A8 pure ingots at 100–104% of LME cash CIF (a premium because pure aluminum trades above the LME contract on a delivered basis), Talc/UBC densified at 82–87%, Troma wheels at 85–90%, clean 6063 extrusion at 88–93%, clean 6061 at 87–92%, Taint/Tabor at 76–82%, Tense at 72–78%, Twitch at 70–78%, Zorba (aluminum-share basis) at 60–68%. Wider discounts reflect lower recovery yield, higher contamination and greater chemistry variability. Buyers who need a tight budget commitment can lock formula pricing (LME × discount %) for 12 months; fixed absolute pricing is available only for spot single containers because it transfers all LME risk to the seller. Monthly contracts typically price against the M-average of the LME cash settlement over the delivery month.
Container loading specifics for every aluminum grade
Container selection is driven by apparent density and the road-legal payload of the destination country. Heavy dense grades (densified UBC pucks, A7 ingots, Troma wheels compacted) load 20GP at 22–24 MT net. Light loose grades (loose UBC, Taint/Tabor, Tense, extrusion offcuts) load 40HC at 22–24 MT net for freight economy. Shredded grades (Twitch, Zorba) load 40HC at 22–24 MT net on a PP fabric floor liner to prevent fine loss. Bales of UBC stack without lining. Every container is photographed empty, quarter, half, three-quarter, full and sealed — the photo set travels with the documentation. High-security ISO/PAS 17712 bolt seals are applied and the seal number is printed on the packing list, bill of lading and inspection certificate. See /export-process-container-loading for the full loading protocol.
Third-party inspection at Rotterdam for aluminum shipments
Every aluminum container can be inspected by SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek or CCIC at our Rotterdam yard. The inspector attends stuffing, verifies gross/tare/net weights against the calibrated weighbridge, draws a 30 kg composite sample per container for XRF chemistry, verifies the container number and seal, and issues the pre-shipment inspection certificate before bill-of-lading release. India-bound aluminum ships with BIS-1 (mandatory since 2020 for non-ferrous imports); China-bound with CCIC per AQSIQ/GACC rules; Turkey with TSE; Egypt with GOEIC; Saudi Arabia with SASO. Destination-country mandated agencies are included in our CIF price when the buyer nominates the standard agency. See /export-process-inspection for full inspection protocol.
EU regulatory framework — Annex VII, EUR.1 and origin certification
Aluminum scrap ships from the EU under two overlapping regulatory regimes. First, EU Regulation (EC) 1013/2006 on shipments of waste governs origin, classification and destination controls — non-hazardous 'green-listed' aluminum scrap shipped to non-OECD destinations requires an Annex VII movement document signed by the notifier. Nautica is a registered notifier and issues Annex VII in the buyer's name for every non-OECD aluminum shipment (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Egypt and others). Second, preferential origin certification (EUR.1) reduces import duty at destinations with an EU trade agreement — Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and South Africa are the largest aluminum-scrap destinations that benefit. Non-preferential origin certificates are issued through the Rotterdam Chamber of Commerce for destinations without a preferential agreement (India, China, USA, UAE). See /export-process-customs-documentation for the full documentation set.
End-use industries — who actually buys European aluminum scrap
Secondary aluminum smelters in India, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia buy UBC and clean Tabor to produce sheet ingot for beverage-can body stock and general rolling. ADC12 die-casters in China, India and Turkey buy Twitch, Taint/Tabor and Zorba because the mixed chemistry averages out predictably in a rotary furnace charge. Wheel-back-to-wheel recyclers (India, UAE, China) buy Troma exclusively because wheel casting demands the specific A356 alloy family. Deox-ingot makers in India and Turkey press Twitch, Zorba and low-grade mixed into notched bars for the steel industry. Cable manufacturers in the Middle East and Africa buy Tesla (6061) and other high-strength grades for aluminum conductor manufacturing. Master-alloy producers blend Twitch with pure aluminum to hit target Al-Si compositions cheaply. Understanding which downstream buyer competes for a given grade explains why UBC trades at a tighter discount than Zorba, and why Troma trades independently of the broader mixed-scrap complex.
European sourcing map — where our aluminum comes from
Nautica sources exclusively from licensed European operators. Post-consumer UBC arrives from Dutch and Belgian beverage-can collection networks (Statiegeld deposit-return systems and municipal recycling), densified at licensed compactor plants and delivered to our Rotterdam yard as pucks or bales. Extrusion offcuts (6063 Tata/Tutu and 6061 Tesla) arrive from fabricators in Germany, the Netherlands and Italy — new industrial arising with tight chemistry. Wheel scrap (Troma) arrives from end-of-life vehicle dismantlers under EU ELV Directive 2000/53/EC. Shredded aluminum (Twitch, Zorba) arrives from automobile and white-goods shredder operators in Rotterdam-Rijnmond, the Ruhr valley and Wallonia, pre-sorted through eddy-current and sink-float plants. Every supplier is on our approved-vendor list with EU waste-handling licences on file. We do not buy from unlicensed informal operators. See /export-process-material-sourcing for the sourcing protocol.
Rotterdam as the natural European aluminum-scrap export hub
The Port of Rotterdam handles the largest concentrated volume of non-ferrous scrap exports in continental Europe. Weekly direct sailings serve every major aluminum-importing port: Nhava Sheva 18–22 days, Chittagong 25–30 days via Colombo, Port Klang 24–28 days, Ho Chi Minh 26–30 days, Mersin 14–18 days, Jebel Ali 20–24 days, Xingang 32–38 days. Rotterdam's terminal density means empty container availability is rarely a constraint, road access to inland European sources is short (200–400 km truck runs typical), and Dutch Customs is the most experienced non-hazardous waste exporter in the EU. Our yard sits inside the port area with direct terminal gate access, so container turn from stuffed to gated-in for the sailing week is same-day. See /rotterdam-port-operations for the full Rotterdam operational profile.
Payment terms, documentation and risk controls
Standard payment for aluminum scrap is 30% TT advance on signed contract + 70% TT or L/C at sight against scanned bill of lading. Approved buyers with a first-class opening bank may agree 100% L/C at sight against copy documents. D/P and D/A structures are available for buyers with 12+ months of on-time payment history. Scanned documents are released within 24 hours of loading; originals couriered on receipt of the 70% wire. The B/L is a document of title — until we release the original, the buyer cannot clear cargo — so the exposure both parties bear is bounded by the payment mechanism. Marine cargo insurance under Institute Cargo Clauses (A) at 110% invoice value is included in CIF price. See /export-process-payment-delivery for the full payment cycle.
Downloadable specifications and technical data sheets
Every aluminum grade Nautica exports has a dedicated technical product page with the ISRI specification, chemistry envelope, physical form, packaging, HS code, LME anchor and destination-country compliance notes. The direct grade pages linked in the sidebar below are the canonical downloadable specification for each grade — printable, buyer-shareable, and always the current contract-binding version. Composite TDS packs and PDF versions covering multi-grade contracts are available on request via /contact. When a buyer references a spec in a contract, both parties reference the URL on nauticametalscrap.com so there is no drift between contract wording and current specification.
How Nautica differs from other European aluminum-scrap exporters
Three structural differences separate Nautica from the average European aluminum-scrap exporter. First, direct European sourcing — we own the relationship with the shredder, the extruder and the collection network, so there is no middleman trader between the arising and the container. Second, LME-linked transparent pricing — every quote shows the LME date, discount percentage and USD/tonne calculation, no hidden basis. Third, complete Rotterdam operational control — the yard is ours, the weighbridge is ours, the loading is ours, the inspection is at our gate, so there is no third-party consolidator introducing chemistry drift or documentation delay. These three differences compound: transparent pricing plus reliable chemistry plus documentation discipline is what makes a Nautica CIF quote defensible against an aggressive Middle-Eastern trader's price on a spot container.
How to place a first aluminum-scrap order with Nautica
First-time buyers follow a simple onboarding sequence. Send an enquiry to sales@nauticametalscrap.com with grade (ISRI code or written specification), tonnage, destination port and preferred incoterm. We reply with a written quotation within 24 hours anchored to that day's LME cash settlement. On acceptance we send KYC documents (company registration, VAT/tax number, banker's reference, one trade reference from an existing scrap supplier) and a draft sales contract. Once countersigned and the 30% TT advance is wired, material allocation starts. Consolidation, inspection and loading run 5–10 working days depending on grade. The container ships on the next weekly Rotterdam sailing. Full documentation and scanned B/L reach the buyer within 24 hours of loading completion. Total elapsed time from first RFQ to cargo on the water: typically two weeks for a repeat buyer, three weeks for a first order.