Aluminum Ladders – The Traditional Choice for Cabling Data Centers
Data center architects traditionally choose heavy duty aluminum ladders to create pathways for dense loads of high voltage power cables and large quantities of data cables.
Aluminum ladders are strong, lightweight, ventilated and have vertical side rails to increase cable stacking capacity. A NEMA Class 16B aluminum cable tray has a load rating of up to 100 pounds per linear foot when supported correctly.
Aluminum itself is a familiar material and easy to work with. Manufacturers inject a block of raw alumina into a channel-shaped dye to extrude sections of fully formed corrosion-resistant ladder tray in one step.
On the job site, some fabrication may be required and sometimes the use of aluminum cable trays is overkill, but that’s the way it’s always been. Aluminum is a safe, proven choice and engineers agree it’s always better to build in excess capacity for future expansion.
Besides, aluminum has always been readily available, reasonably priced, and there has been no substitute matching its strength-to-weight ratio…until now.
Economics Forcing Data Center Builders to Rethink Aluminum
A triple-whammy of geopolitical events has transformed the aluminum market, disrupting supplies and driving up prices:
- High production costs, few facilities. Massive energy requirements during manufacture, rising electricity costs, cheap imports and a pivot to recycled aluminum have decimated the U.S. aluminum industry. Today only a handful of facilities capable of smelting virgin alumina remain, down from a peak of over 20 operations in the 1990s, squeezing domestic production and greatly extending lead times for finished product.
- Tariffs. Domestic mining of raw alumina is down as well. Well over 50% of the total aluminum consumed annually in the U.S. – millions of metric tons – is now sourced from Canada and China, and these imports have been hit with expensive American tariffs.
- U.S.-Iran conflict. Two other major aluminum exporting countries located in the Middle East account for almost 10% of global aluminum supply. However, Bahrain and UAE have both reported significant damage to production facilities from recent hostilities and are experiencing shipping delays due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade.
Together with soaring demand from food suppliers/canners, auto manufacturers and the AI data center buildout, these factors have coalesced into a worldwide aluminum shortage that has pushed prices and wait times to historic highs.
In July 2025 the benchmark price for virgin aluminum on the London Metals Exchange was approximately $2,500 per metric ton. It skyrocketed to almost $3,800 by June 2026 before settling at its current range of about $3,150. Many analysts expect the price to approach $4,000 per metric ton in the U.S. in 2027 due to continued volatility in the Middle East and as Canadian and Chinese producers shift exports to European trading partners to avoid tariffs.
Despite this, hyperscale data center builders continue to consume inventory as fast as trays are produced while the few remaining U.S. aluminum tray manufacturers are having difficulty keeping pace with demand. And every day spent waiting for cable trays is another day the data center is not generating revenue.
This has data center architects searching for a more affordable and available alternative to aluminum cable trays, and only Snake Tray® has it: the 801 Series Mega Snake™.
Mega Snake™: The Only Alternative to Aluminum Cable Trays
In the past, wire mesh cable trays were never viewed as a viable option to aluminum ladders due to their inability to support heavy loads. Generic basket trays are usually constructed from thinner 4mm to 5mm gauge steel wire that has a maximum weight rating of 75 lbs. of cable per linear foot when supported at five-foot intervals; roughly half the capacity of aluminum ladders.
Mega Snake changes everything.
Engineered for demanding applications where cable densities exceed traditional wire basket tray limits, Snake Tray’s 801 Series Mega Snake is manufactured using 6.35mm (1/4") steel wire, 21% larger than generic wire basket trays and the largest diameter wire used in the industry!
Thicker steel welded in a 4" grid pattern gives Mega Snake a load rating of up to 150 pounds per linear foot when supported at five-foot intervals, surpassing a NEMA Class 16B aluminum cable tray. Mega Snake is therefore the only wire mesh basket tray alternative with an equal strength-to-weight ratio as aluminum ladder.
Mega Snake is a hybrid; it delivers the performance of a traditional aluminum ladder while offering the lightness, installation efficiencies and price point of a wire basket tray without suffering deflection under heavy cable loads.
Plus, Mega Snake is a premanufactured cable conveyance solution. Tray sections arrive finished, nested for easy handling and ready for quick installation. A built-in suspension system eliminates the need for brackets or struts. 
Segments attach in minutes with a one-piece splice kit that creates both a mechanical and electrical bond. Prefabricated fittings, turns, Tee’s and cross sections eliminate on-site cutting, clipping and welding, saving time, minimizing waste and reducing risk of fire, injury and costly mistakes.
And considering the turmoil in the global aluminum market, Mega Snake now has a more compelling value proposition versus aluminum ladder than ever!
Mega Snake Lowers Conveyance Costs by 50% Without Sacrificing Strength
The U.S. price of hot-rolled virgin steel wire coil currently averages $1,200 per metric ton, roughly one-third the going rate of aluminum. However, the price of recycled steel is even less, around $375 to $475 per metric ton, yielding significant savings without sacrificing strength.
Mega Snake made from 100% recycled steel for a most affordable solution.
Wondering if recycled steel experiences degradation in strength relative to virgin steel? Fear not.
Steel is primarily made from iron ore, and it has a unique property: it can be melted down and reformed into new products without degrading. Whether it has been part of a bridge, a washing machine or a car frame, that same steel can be reborn as something entirely new — and just as strong – like an 801 Series Mega Snake basket tray.
Note, however, that the cost of aluminum versus recycled steel (presently $3,150 versus ~ $400 per metric ton, respectively) will not result in a direct 8:1 savings delta.
Whereas raw aluminum is naturally corrosion-resistant and can be economically extruded in the desired shape in a single process, steel is a stronger, harder material to form. Raw 12" diameter recycled steel coil must be drawn down to ¼" diameter wire in a lengthy multi-step process before galvanizing or powder coating can be applied for corrosion resistance. The additional works translates to a savings of about 50% for equal lengths of Mega Snake compared to aluminum cable trays.
Data Centers Save Time and Money with Mega Snake
Why haven’t more data centers builders substituted aluminum ladders for wire mesh basket trays in the past? Because there hasn’t been a viable alternative.
Steel cable trays with vertical siderails are extremely expensive and excessive for most jobs, while flat steel ladder runways lack vertical side rails and therefore have limited stacking capacity.
The bottom line is that Snake Tray Mega Snake is as strong as a NEMA Class 16B aluminum tray, goes together as fast as an aluminum tray, has the load capacity of an aluminum tray, yet costs about half as much as an aluminum cable tray.
Plus, Mega Snake is readily available. Manufactured here in the U.S. at our New York facility from 100% recycled domestic steel, Mega Snake arrives on the job site without extended lead time or supply chain delays, is not subject to import tariffs, and is designed for today’s higher cable densities.
Get the long-term value and performance you need without sacrifice. Get Mega Snake.
Reach out to us at Snake Tray to learn more. We are Snake Tray. We are cable management.
