How do you calculate copper cost per foot?

Multiply length by the copper rate and by the capture factor, add the fixed cost, then divide by length. In the example, 100 units at $45 with an 80% capture factor gives $3,600 captured, plus $250 fixed equals $3,850 total, or $38.50 per foot.

What is the copper capture factor?

It is the share of the theoretical copper cost that actually ends up in sellable product, accounting for draw-down trim, stranding waste and scrap that is not fully recovered. An 80% factor as used here means 20% of gross copper value is lost or offset before it reaches the customer.

Why include a fixed cost in a per-foot copper figure?

Setup, dies and tooling do not scale with length but still must be recovered. Adding the $250 fixed cost and dividing by length loads it fairly across the run — on 100 units it adds $2.50 per foot, which shrinks as the run gets longer.

How does the LME copper price affect this?

The copper rate is where the LME plus your supplier premium enters. Because copper is the dominant BOM line, a rate change moves the total almost proportionally — repricing the $45 rate is the fastest way to keep a quote current after a copper move.

What is a good per-foot copper cost?

There is no universal benchmark — it scales with conductor gauge and copper price. What matters is that your quoted per-foot copper matches the actual on that run; the $38.50 result here is only good if the BOM and capture factor reflect the real gauge and yield.

Copper cost per foot vs per pound — which should I quote in?

Cost per foot is what customers buy and what your take-up measures, but copper is priced per pound on the LME. Keep your rate in per-foot terms already converted from the gauge's pounds-per-foot, and use this tool to load capture and fixed cost on top.

Wire, Cable & Conductor Manufacturing calculator

Copper Cost Per Foot Calculator

Copper Cost Per Foot turns the day's LME-driven copper price into the loaded material cost carried by each foot of finished conductor. Copper is typically the single largest cost in a wire and cable BOM, so estimators and cost engineers watch this number the way a machinist watches tolerance. The capture factor lets you model how much of the theoretical copper cost actually lands in the sellable product after draw-down, stranding trim, and copper premium adjustments, while the fixed cost absorbs setup and tooling that must be spread across the run. Get this right and your quotes hold margin through copper-price swings; get it wrong and a volatile LME wipes out the job.

What this calculator does

Copper Cost Per Foot turns the day's LME-driven copper price into the loaded material cost carried by each foot of finished conductor.
Use it when copper cost per foot in wire, cable and conductor manufacturing is being put through a wire, cable and conductor manufacturing weighted-cost review.
It computes total loaded copper cost as length times copper rate times capture factor plus fixed cost, then divides by length to give the per-foot copper cost.

Formula used

Copper Cost Per Foot cost = quantity × rate × capture factor + fixed cost
Per-unit copper cost per foot = total cost ÷ quantity

Inputs explained

Conductor length produced:
Copper cost per foot of length:
Copper content capture factor:
Fixed setup and tooling cost:

How to use the result

Use it when quoting a cable job, repricing against a copper move, or checking whether a run's material cost matches what the BOM assumed.
It models copper as a single blended rate and does not separate conductor gauge, copper premium, or scrap credit — for tight quotes feed it a rate that already includes premium and expected scrap recovery.

Current U.S. benchmarks

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).
The U.S. has 5,397 electrical equipment and appliances establishments employing about 369,437 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Common questions

How do you calculate copper cost per foot? Multiply length by the copper rate and by the capture factor, add the fixed cost, then divide by length. In the example, 100 units at $45 with an 80% capture factor gives $3,600 captured, plus $250 fixed equals $3,850 total, or $38.50 per foot.
What is the copper capture factor? It is the share of the theoretical copper cost that actually ends up in sellable product, accounting for draw-down trim, stranding waste and scrap that is not fully recovered. An 80% factor as used here means 20% of gross copper value is lost or offset before it reaches the customer.
Why include a fixed cost in a per-foot copper figure? Setup, dies and tooling do not scale with length but still must be recovered. Adding the $250 fixed cost and dividing by length loads it fairly across the run — on 100 units it adds $2.50 per foot, which shrinks as the run gets longer.
How does the LME copper price affect this? The copper rate is where the LME plus your supplier premium enters. Because copper is the dominant BOM line, a rate change moves the total almost proportionally — repricing the $45 rate is the fastest way to keep a quote current after a copper move.
What is a good per-foot copper cost? There is no universal benchmark — it scales with conductor gauge and copper price. What matters is that your quoted per-foot copper matches the actual on that run; the $38.50 result here is only good if the BOM and capture factor reflect the real gauge and yield.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.