OREANDA-NEWS. January 23, 2012. The profit margin of the Chinese steel industry hit a record low in November. CISA 256 member enterprises posted a combined profit of 1.22 billion yuan after offsetting losses, down by 180 million yuan from October.

Their average sales margin reduced from 0.48 percent to 0.43 percent, at 2.55 percent, well below the average profitability of the countryбпs all large-scale industries.

Iron ore, coking coal and scrap prices continued to drive up the production cost of steelmakers. China imported 622.01 million tons of iron ore from January to November last year at an average price of USD 166.21 a ton including freight, an increase of 31.49 percent by value from the same period last year. This has led to an increase in payments of USD 24.76 billion yuan.