How do you calculate metal margin per ton?

Subtract landed cost from selling price, then divide by the selling price reference. At $1,100 selling and $950 landed, the margin per ton is $150 and the margin is 13.64%.

What is a good gross margin for a metals service center?

Commodity flat-rolled steel and coil often run 8-15% gross margin, while value-added slitting or specialty alloys can reach 20-30%. The 13.64% in our example is a typical, healthy service-center number for plain carbon coil.

What is landed cost per ton?

It is the mill or supplier price plus inbound freight, duties, fuel surcharges and any handling to get the metal onto your floor. Using only the mill price overstates margin.

Why is selling price reference a separate field?

It lets you express margin against a different base — for example a published index or contract price — instead of your own invoice price. Setting it equal to the selling price gives standard margin on price.

Margin vs markup on steel — what's the difference?

Margin divides profit by selling price; markup divides profit by cost. The $150 spread on $950 cost is a 15.8% markup but only a 13.64% margin. Quoting markup as margin quietly underprices the order.

How much does a mill price increase erode my margin?

If landed cost rose $50 to $1,000 and you held price at $1,100, margin per ton drops to $100 and margin falls to 9.1% — a third of the profit gone. Pass increases through within the quote window.

Metals, Steel, Aluminum & Coil Processing calculator

Metal Margin Impact Calculator

Metal Margin Impact tells a service center or coil processor how much gross profit it keeps on every ton sold once the full landed cost of the metal is paid. Sales managers, buyers and owners use it to price quotes against a volatile mill index and to see whether a price increase or a freight surcharge actually protects the bottom line. Because metal prices swing weekly, a quote that looked healthy at order entry can erode by the time the coil ships, so margin per ton is the number that keeps a deal from going underwater. Run it on every line before you commit tonnage.

What this calculator does

Estimate the margin on processed metal by subtracting landed cost per ton from selling price per ton and dividing by a reference price.
Use it when an estimator or sales manager needs a quick margin read on a coil or processed metal order before quoting.
It computes gross margin as a percentage of the selling price reference, plus the absolute dollar margin earned per ton sold.

Formula used

Margin per ton = selling price per ton - landed cost per ton
Margin = margin per ton ÷ selling price reference

Inputs explained

Selling price per ton:
Landed cost per ton:
Selling price reference (margin base):

How to use the result

Use it when quoting a new order, repricing inventory after a mill increase, or comparing the profitability of two grades or coil widths.
It is gross margin only — it excludes processing labor, slitting yield loss, financing carry and SG&A, so true net margin per ton is lower than the figure shown.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The producer price index for steel mill products stands at 348.53 (BLS, May 2026), up 6.7% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move.
The producer price index for aluminum mill shapes stands at 404.859 (BLS, May 2026), up 36.8% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move.
The producer price index for copper and brass mill shapes stands at 559.593 (BLS, May 2026), up 76.8% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move. Global copper trades at $13,484 per tonne (IMF via FRED, May 2026).

Common questions

How do you calculate metal margin per ton? Subtract landed cost from selling price, then divide by the selling price reference. At $1,100 selling and $950 landed, the margin per ton is $150 and the margin is 13.64%.
What is a good gross margin for a metals service center? Commodity flat-rolled steel and coil often run 8-15% gross margin, while value-added slitting or specialty alloys can reach 20-30%. The 13.64% in our example is a typical, healthy service-center number for plain carbon coil.
What is landed cost per ton? It is the mill or supplier price plus inbound freight, duties, fuel surcharges and any handling to get the metal onto your floor. Using only the mill price overstates margin.
Why is selling price reference a separate field? It lets you express margin against a different base — for example a published index or contract price — instead of your own invoice price. Setting it equal to the selling price gives standard margin on price.
Margin vs markup on steel — what's the difference? Margin divides profit by selling price; markup divides profit by cost. The $150 spread on $950 cost is a 15.8% markup but only a 13.64% margin. Quoting markup as margin quietly underprices the order.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.