The Rhine River has carried people and goods through the heart of Dusseldorf, Germany, for more than eight centuries. On a brisk October day, a steady flow of barges moves north and south on the water, past the tree-lined promenade on the old city's waterfront. A few of those barges are clearly loaded with scrap-a sign that trade continues, even in some of the worst economic conditions in recent memory. The economic downturn-its rapid onset, severity, and consequences for international trade-were the primary concern of the more than 950 delegates and guests at the fall convention of the Bureau of International Recycling (Brussels), held in Dusseldorf Oct. 30-31. "Whenever has our industry witnessed the evaporation of price, credit, and-more important-trust in such short order?" asked Nonferrous Division President Robert Stein of Alter Trading Corp. (St. Louis) in his opening remarks at the nonferrous roundtable.
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