China steel makers report losses

• Source: cctv
• [17:01 April 29 2009]
• Comments

China's 72 major steel makers report a loss of 3.3 billion yuan for the first quarter of 2009. The number is a sharp contrast to the 44 billion yuan in earning during the same period last year.

The China Iron and Steel Association announced Wednesday that total sales revenue for the first 3 months was nearly 450 billion yuan, down 22 percent year on year. The association says the market supply has exceeded demands, and this has also led to falling prices for the whole industry.

But the average production cost has also dropped 14 percent year on year, and many steel manufacturers have also been restructuring to improve performances.