Memories from the (ferrous) scrap heap of history
Friday July 29, 2016
We all remember where we were on Sept. 11, 2001. Others are old enough to remember where they were when JFK was shot. These and other historical events changed the world.
Those involved in the commodity markets can’t help but also recall what the events meant for their markets. Whether they were a buyer, seller, trader, broker or agent, they remember where they were and what the market did.
Did they go long, did they go short, did they do nothing at all?
The coup attempt in Turkey earlier this month failed, but it got some industry veterans to jog their memories of other historic events. In this and future blog posts, we will look back at market-shifting moments, from dramatic changes in governments to natural disasters, terrorist attacks, declarations of war, invasions and economic booms and collapses.
Much like we just witnessed in Turkey, coup attempts began to unravel and ultimately seal the fate of the Soviet Union and related communist systems. Scrap industry veteran Nathan Fruchter, president of Idoru Recycling Corp., recounted three such pivotal moments in the Fall of Communism through the eyes of a scrap trader.
The Berlin Wall comes down: Nov. 9, 1989 The event: On November 9, 1989 the head of the East German Communist Party announced that citizens of the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) were permitted to cross the border into West Germany. Citizens took it a step further. That evening they swarmed the 28-year old concrete and barbed wire wall with hammers and picks and began to chip away at it. It took nearly two years for the complete demolition of the wall but that night began the first steps toward German reunification and the opening of East Germany to the rest of the world. The effect: “It opened up East Germany to scrap exports. Many West German dealers were running to East Germany to wrap up supply sources and set up scrap yards. The Port of Rostock, the only East German port, opened up for bulk scrap exports. Scrap that had never been exported before came flowing out of East German territory. Of course, this all predates container business; it was all bulk.” Today: Germany has become the largest shipper of ferrous scrap to EU countries. Germany expor...
The Berlin Wall comes down: Nov. 9, 1989 The event: On November 9, 1989 the head of the East German Communist Party announced that citizens of the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) were permitted to cross the border into West Germany. Citizens took it a step further. That evening they swarmed the 28-year old concrete and barbed wire wall with hammers and picks and began to chip away at it. It took nearly two years for the complete demolition of the wall but that night began the first steps toward German reunification and the opening of East Germany to the rest of the world. The effect: “It opened up East Germany to scrap exports. Many West German dealers were running to East Germany to wrap up supply sources and set up scrap yards. The Port of Rostock, the only East German port, opened up for bulk scrap exports. Scrap that had never been exported before came flowing out of East German territory. Of course, this all predates container business; it was all bulk.” Today: Germany has become the largest shipper of ferrous scrap to EU countries. Germany expor...