Passage: Shares of Coors, the company's sole publicly traded major competitor, fell $1.50 apiece to $19.125 in national over-the-counter trading, apparently on investor concerns over potential fallout from the coming pricing struggle. Anheuser noted that "beer industry sales volume is 1989 is following the trend that has characterized the last half of the '80s, with sales volume being essentially flat" while consolidation creates fewer, bigger players.
characterized