How do you calculate quote margin per ton?

Subtract cost per ton from quoted revenue per ton, then divide by reference revenue per ton. With $85 quoted, $62 cost, and $85 reference, the margin amount is $23 and the quote margin is about 27.06%.

What is a good processing margin per ton at a MRF?

Healthy single-stream processing quotes often land in the 20-35% range per ton depending on commodity mix. The example 27.06% is a solid mid-range figure with $23 of margin on each ton.

Quote margin vs project margin: what is the difference?

Quote margin is per-ton unit economics on processing; project margin is the profit on a one-time equipment build. You can win an equipment project and still lose money if the per-ton quote margin underneath it is thin.

Why is the margin percent based on revenue, not cost?

Dividing the $23 amount by the $85 reference revenue gives 27.06% margin. Dividing by the $62 cost would give markup (about 37%), which looks bigger but is not how processing contracts are scored.

How sensitive is quote margin to commodity prices?

Very. If recovered-commodity value lifts revenue to $95/ton against the same $62 cost, margin jumps to about 35%. A downswing erodes it just as fast, so revisit the quote when markets move.

How do I improve quote margin without raising the gate fee?

Lower processing cost per ton: raise first-pass yield, cut residue disposal, and improve line availability so labor and energy spread over more tons. Every dollar off the $62 cost adds a point of margin.

Municipal Waste Sorting Equipment calculator

Processing Quote Margin Calculator

Quote Margin is the per-ton profitability of a municipal waste processing quote, measuring how much of each ton's quoted revenue survives the cost to process it. MRF sales and commercial teams use it to price gate fees and processing contracts and to compare one inbound stream against another. Because a sort line runs the same per-ton economics across thousands of tons, a few dollars of margin per ton compounds into the contract's whole profitability. This is the unit-economics check that sits underneath any larger project bid.

What this calculator does

Estimate the margin on a per-ton processing quote so the team can price contracts against expected processing cost and residue exposure.
Use it when pricing a municipal processing contract or a transfer station deal and you need a clean per-ton margin before sending the quote.
It subtracts processing cost per ton from quoted revenue per ton, then divides by reference revenue per ton to give the margin percent on each ton.

Formula used

Quote margin amount = quoted revenue per ton - required cost per ton
Quote margin = quote margin amount / reference revenue per ton

Inputs explained

Quoted gate or processing revenue per ton:
Required processing cost per ton:
Reference revenue per ton for margin base:

How to use the result

Use it when pricing a gate fee or processing contract, or comparing the unit economics of different inbound waste streams.
It is a per-ton snapshot; it does not weight by tonnage mix or account for commodity price swings that move the real revenue per ton month to month.

Current U.S. benchmarks

Steel mill PPI stands at 348.53 (BLS, May 2026), up 6.7% from a year earlier. New factory orders are up 2.3% year over year (Census).

Common questions

How do you calculate quote margin per ton? Subtract cost per ton from quoted revenue per ton, then divide by reference revenue per ton. With $85 quoted, $62 cost, and $85 reference, the margin amount is $23 and the quote margin is about 27.06%.
What is a good processing margin per ton at a MRF? Healthy single-stream processing quotes often land in the 20-35% range per ton depending on commodity mix. The example 27.06% is a solid mid-range figure with $23 of margin on each ton.
Quote margin vs project margin: what is the difference? Quote margin is per-ton unit economics on processing; project margin is the profit on a one-time equipment build. You can win an equipment project and still lose money if the per-ton quote margin underneath it is thin.
Why is the margin percent based on revenue, not cost? Dividing the $23 amount by the $85 reference revenue gives 27.06% margin. Dividing by the $62 cost would give markup (about 37%), which looks bigger but is not how processing contracts are scored.
How sensitive is quote margin to commodity prices? Very. If recovered-commodity value lifts revenue to $95/ton against the same $62 cost, margin jumps to about 35%. A downswing erodes it just as fast, so revisit the quote when markets move.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.