Technical articles 5 min read
What sets the price of expanded clay aggregate? Five factors
No producer can give you one flat number, and anyone who does has probably buried something in the invoice.
"What does it cost?" is a question with no answer until five other numbers are on the table. Put them in the enquiry and you get a reply once rather than three times.
One. Grade. Finer fractions carry a higher rate per cubic metre, and the reason is yield: a tonne of fired clay gives a fixed share of each fraction, and the fine ones are a smaller part of what leaves the kiln. The gap between 0–3 and 10–20 mm is real and not negotiable.
Two. Order size. The main step in the price is where an order reaches a trailer load. Bulk loading runs about 60 to 70 m³ per trailer; a 30 m³ order pays the same haulage as a 65 m³ one, so its transport cost per cubic metre roughly doubles. Consolidate orders where the programme allows it.
Three. Packaging. Bulk is cheapest and needs a silo or a prepared discharge point. One-cubic-metre bulk bags suit sites with a crane that want to meter consumption. Fifty-litre sacks are the dearest by volume and make sense for small works and retail. On a large project the difference between bulk and sacks is substantial.
Four. Delivery terms. Ex-works and delivered are two different numbers, as are FOB and CIF for export. Say which you want: comparing one supplier's ex-works against another's delivered is comparing two unrelated things.
Five. Distance. The material is light but bulky, and haulage is priced by volume rather than weight. Transport therefore takes a larger share of the final figure than you would expect from heavy aggregate. Over long distances it can exceed the goods.
Two lesser factors: season, since demand rises through the building months, and lead time, because an urgent order takes a planned one's place in the loading queue.
So, to get a firm price, state these: grade or application, volume in cubic metres, packaging, delivery destination, and the date you need it. Five lines will get you a quote you can rely on — and if you do not know the grade, give the application instead. Choosing the grade is the seller's job, not yours.
One. Grade. Finer fractions carry a higher rate per cubic metre, and the reason is yield: a tonne of fired clay gives a fixed share of each fraction, and the fine ones are a smaller part of what leaves the kiln. The gap between 0–3 and 10–20 mm is real and not negotiable.
Two. Order size. The main step in the price is where an order reaches a trailer load. Bulk loading runs about 60 to 70 m³ per trailer; a 30 m³ order pays the same haulage as a 65 m³ one, so its transport cost per cubic metre roughly doubles. Consolidate orders where the programme allows it.
Three. Packaging. Bulk is cheapest and needs a silo or a prepared discharge point. One-cubic-metre bulk bags suit sites with a crane that want to meter consumption. Fifty-litre sacks are the dearest by volume and make sense for small works and retail. On a large project the difference between bulk and sacks is substantial.
Four. Delivery terms. Ex-works and delivered are two different numbers, as are FOB and CIF for export. Say which you want: comparing one supplier's ex-works against another's delivered is comparing two unrelated things.
Five. Distance. The material is light but bulky, and haulage is priced by volume rather than weight. Transport therefore takes a larger share of the final figure than you would expect from heavy aggregate. Over long distances it can exceed the goods.
Two lesser factors: season, since demand rises through the building months, and lead time, because an urgent order takes a planned one's place in the loading queue.
So, to get a firm price, state these: grade or application, volume in cubic metres, packaging, delivery destination, and the date you need it. Five lines will get you a quote you can rely on — and if you do not know the grade, give the application instead. Choosing the grade is the seller's job, not yours.