Zinc Wire Quotation Reference: Eight Price Levers and an RFQ You Can Send Today
Updated 9 September 2026 · 10 min read · LME reference: cash USD 4,157/t, 7 September 2026
Short answer
Most zinc wire quotes are not comparable because they are not quoting the same basis. In September 2026 the gap between LME cash and the three-month contract is USD 182 per tonne, so a supplier quoting over the forward contract looks USD 182 cheaper while buying the same ingot. Ranked by impact, the levers are: pricing basis, conversion premium, diameter, purity or alloy, pack format, order size, payment terms, Incoterm. Send the RFQ template below and the numbers become comparable.
- Largest lever: LME pricing basis, up to USD 182/t right now
- Most negotiable lever: conversion premium, typically USD 300–600/t
- Most overlooked lever: payment terms - 30 days is worth about USD 30/t
- Send thirteen fields, not three. The template is below.
Copy this RFQ
Everything in the zinc wire market is negotiable except the metal, so the purpose of an RFQ is to force every supplier onto the same basis. Paste this, delete what does not apply, and send it to three suppliers rather than one.
PRODUCT : Thermal spray zinc wire to ASTM B833-20
BASE : Special high grade zinc, Z13001 / High grade, Z15001 (delete one)
DIA : ____ mm tolerance +/- ____ mm
CHEM : Zn >= ____ % Cd <= ____ Pb <= ____ Fe <= ____ Cu <= ____
total non-zinc <= ____ %
MECH : tensile ____ MPa elongation ____ % (state if required)
PACK : spool / coil / drum net weight ____ kg (state per pack)
FEED : continuous length per pack required? yes / no
splices or welds permitted? yes / no
QTY : ____ kg (____ tonnes) delivery: ____ (schedule if split)
PRICE : basis = LME zinc [cash / 3-month / monthly average]
premium = USD ____ /t over that basis
quote valid until ____ (ask for 5 working days, not 30)
TERMS : Incoterm 2020 ____ named port/place ____
payment ____ (CAD / T/T 30 days / L/C at sight)
DOCS : mill test certificate with heat number, packing list,
certificate of origin (delete as required)
SAMPLE : pre-shipment sample required? yes / no
OTHER : ____
The three lines that do the most work are PRICE basis, FEED and CHEM. Without a basis you cannot compare quotes. Without a feed requirement you can be supplied wire that meets chemistry and still jams your gun. Without individual chemical limits you can be supplied 99.99 percent zinc with the rest of the 0.01 percent being lead and cadmium, which is exactly what the standard exists to constrain.
Eight price levers, ranked
Ranked by how much they actually move a September 2026 quote on a 20 tonne order. Confidence is our own: high means it follows from published data, medium means it is commercial experience, low means it varies too much by supplier to generalise.
| # | Lever | Typical impact | Confidence | Who controls it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LME pricing basis - cash vs three-month vs monthly average | up to USD 182/t | High | Buyer, by asking |
| 2 | Conversion premium - drawing, spooling, packaging, margin | USD 300–600/t | Medium | Negotiated |
| 3 | Diameter - fine wire costs more to draw than coarse | USD 50–250/t | Medium | Buyer, by spec |
| 4 | Purity or alloy - 99.995% Zn vs 99.95% vs 85/15 Zn-Al | USD 0–400/t | Medium | Buyer, by spec |
| 5 | Pack format - 15–18 kg spool vs 25 kg coil vs 250 kg drum | USD 30–120/t | Medium | Buyer, by spec |
| 6 | Order size - published tiers step down at 3, 10 and 25 t | USD 50–150/t | High | Buyer, by volume |
| 7 | Payment terms - CAD vs 30 days vs L/C at sight | about USD 12–30/t | High | Buyer, by terms |
| 8 | Incoterm and freight - FOB vs CIF, port choice | 3–10% of value | High | Shared |
Notice what is not on the list: the LME zinc price itself. It is 91 percent of your invoice and neither party can influence it, which is why spending an hour negotiating it is a waste and spending an hour on levers 1, 2 and 5 is not.
Three pricing structures, and who carries the risk
What each structure does
- Fixed price, valid N days. The supplier carries metal risk for the validity window and prices that risk into the number. Clean, auditable, and padded.
- LME basis plus premium. You carry metal risk and pay a stated premium. Transparent, comparable across suppliers, and the structure we would default to.
- Monthly average plus premium. Volatility is smoothed across the month. Best for continuous programmes; worst if you need to time a purchase.
What to watch for
- A fixed quote valid 30 days is an option you wrote for free. On a 20 percent annualised mover, ask for 5 days.
- LME-linked works only if the basis is named. "LME plus premium" with no basis is not a quote.
- Monthly average hides the intra-month timing. Name which average: official LME monthly average settlement, or the average of daily cash.
- In backwardation, cash-linked is more expensive than 3M-linked today. That is not a discount, it is a different promise.
What 30-day payment terms actually cost, per tonne
Order 20 t x USD 4,557 /t = USD 91,140 Cost of capital 8 % per year 30 days 91,140 x 0.08 x 30/365 = USD 599 Per tonne 599 / 20 t = USD 30 /t So a supplier offering 30-day terms at USD 4,587/t is offering you the same deal as USD 4,557/t cash against documents. Compare on a common basis, not on the headline.
The same arithmetic applies to letters of credit. An L/C carries bank charges and administrative cost that a telegraphic transfer does not, typically landed in the region of a couple of hundred dollars plus a small percentage of invoice value on a consignment this size - call it USD 12 to 20 per tonne on the example above. We are giving that as an estimate rather than a quote, because bank pricing is yours to negotiate, not ours.
Reading a quote: the five things that should worry you
-
✔No pricing basis stated. If the quote does not say cash, three-month or monthly average, it is not a quote, it is an opening position.
-
✔Chemistry given as a single purity number. "99.99% zinc" says nothing about cadmium, lead, iron or copper, which is exactly what ASTM B833 constrains.
-
✔Thirty-day validity. Ask for five working days and see whether the number moves. If it does not, the validity was not costing them anything.
-
✔No pack format or net weight. Spooling 15 kg packs and drum-packing 250 kg are not the same cost, and a quote that omits it will be renegotiated later.
-
✔Mill certificate not referenced to the standard. Ask for the certificate to cite ASTM B833-20 and the heat number.
What we will not put in a quote
We will not quote a landed duty figure. Tariff treatment under HS 7904.00 for zinc bars, rods, profiles and wire changes by destination country and by year, and rates have been moving fast enough in both directions that any number we print here would be wrong before you read it. Ask your broker for the current rate against your own classification.
We will also not quote a freight number without a port, a weight and a date. Container rates on this lane have moved enough in 2026 that a standing freight figure is fiction.
FAQ
What should a zinc wire RFQ include?
Thirteen fields: the governing specification (ASTM B833-20), base metal designation (Z13001 or Z15001), diameter and tolerance, chemical limits including total non-zinc, mechanical properties, pack format and net weight, continuity and splice requirements, quantity and delivery schedule, the LME pricing basis and the date it is struck, Incoterm and port, payment terms, documents required, and whether a pre-shipment sample is needed. Omitting the pricing basis is the most expensive omission.
Why do zinc wire quotes from different suppliers vary so much?
Usually because they are not quoting the same thing. The largest single cause is the LME pricing basis: cash, three-month and monthly average were up to USD 182 per tonne apart on 7 September 2026. The second is conversion premium, which varies by a factor of two for identical specifications. The third is pack format, because spooling small packs costs real money that drum packing does not.
Should I ask for a fixed price or an LME-linked price?
Fixed for small, urgent, one-off buys where you need a number for a job cost today. LME-linked for anything recurring, because a stated premium over a named basis lets you compare suppliers and audit the metal component. Monthly average for continuous programmes where you want volatility smoothed rather than timed. Each structure simply decides who carries the metal risk.
What is a reasonable conversion premium for zinc wire?
In our experience between USD 300 and USD 600 per tonne over the LME zinc price, depending on diameter and pack format. Fine wire and small spools sit at the top of that range because drawing and spooling cost more; coarse wire in drums sits at the bottom. This is a commercial judgement, not a published assessment - treat it as a negotiation opening rather than a benchmark.
How do payment terms affect zinc wire price?
By the cost of money. On a 20 tonne order at USD 4,557 per tonne the invoice is USD 91,140. At an 8 percent annual cost of capital, 30-day terms cost about USD 599, which is USD 30 per tonne. That is why 30-day terms usually carry a higher unit price than cash against documents: the difference is financing, not margin.
What documents should I require with a zinc wire shipment?
A mill test certificate showing heat number and actual chemical analysis against the specified limits, a packing list with net and gross weights and pack counts, and a certificate of origin if your customs procedure requires it. Ask for the certificate to cite the specification number and revision - a certificate that only says 99.99 percent zinc tells you nothing about cadmium, lead, iron or copper.
The rest of this zinc wire series
- Zinc Wire Price Trend: September 2026 - the LME basis your premium is quoted against, month by month
- Zinc Wire Market Outlook 2026 - whether to fix or float, and three triggers worth watching
- Zinc Wire Applications - which diameter and purity your particular job actually needs
- Zinc Wire Packaging Specification - where pack format sits among the eight price levers
- Zinc Wire Warehousing and Storage - where storage and payment terms sit among the eight price levers
Related on this site
- High Purity Zinc Wire - the product page, with the grades we actually stock
- Zinc Wire Specifications, Grades and Selection
Send us the RFQ above - we will fill in our half
Paste the template into the form with your diameter, pack format and tonnage. You will get back a premium over a named LME basis, a validity date, and a straight answer on whether your timing or your pack choice is costing you money.
-
✔Quotes priced over a named LME basis, premium stated separately
-
✔Five working days validity, not thirty
-
✔Mill certificate citing ASTM B833 with heat number
-
✔We will flag a spec that is over-tight for the job
If you are comparing us against another supplier, send us their quote with the supplier name removed. We will tell you honestly where the difference is.
Sources and known gaps
ASTM B833-20 scope and the Z13001 / Z15001 designations: ASTM International. LME zinc cash USD 4,157/t and three-month USD 3,975/t on 7 September 2026: Westmetall LME Zn series. Zinc wire chemical limits and pack formats (15–18 kg spool, 25 kg coil, 50–250 kg drum), tensile strength 115 ± 10 MPa, elongation 45 ± 5%: multiple Chinese supplier product listings. HS 7904.00 classification for zinc bars, rods, profiles and wire: HS Code Atlas and HS Mate.
Derived on this page: the USD 599 and USD 30/t cost of 30-day terms from an 8 percent annual capital cost on a USD 91,140 invoice - inputs shown, rerun with your own cost of capital. The lever rankings and impact ranges are our commercial judgement ordered by observed impact, not a published sensitivity study.
Gaps we did not paper over: we have deliberately not quoted duty rates under HS 7904.00 or freight rates, because both change by destination and month and anything we print would be stale. The L/C cost estimate of USD 12–20 per tonne is an approximation, not a bank quotation. The conversion premium band of USD 300–600/t is experience-based and carries no independent verification - if a supplier quotes outside it, that is information, not an error.